Memoirs of a Vampire Band Nerd
by Undercover Oboist
Summary: Merryweather Marching Band is a band divided. Divided by grades, sections, instruments. All they needed was another dividing factor. When a junior flutist stumbles onto a supernatural conspiracy, she could separate the band... forever.
1. Ch 1: Thunderstorm

Chapter 1: Thunderstorm

"Oh come on Jazz, why don't you **JAZZ** me up?" the male voice asked, coming from much closer than I'd expected. I pushed my body closer against the rough brick wall of the dark practice room. If I pushed any farther I would explode.

"Here Jazzy Jazz, I know you're here," the voice crooned, and I could almost imagine him in my head groping around for me. I slid down into a squatting position, knowing that he'd be groping above my head. Then hopefully I could crawl to the door… I could see the small crack of light, like a small slimmer of hope that I was too afraid to feel.

That's when I started crawling; using the rough, smelly carpet as a handle to drag myself quietly across the floor until something hard and bony tripped over me. Ed had just fallen over my body, screaming "Shit!" I yanked myself up, pushing down his head and made for the door, but he wasn't having that. His hand wrapped around my bare leg, making me irrationally wish I'd chosen to shave and pulled me back down. I fell hard against the carpet, causing a fiery friction to rub painfully against my skin.

"Sorry Jazz. Not getting out of this one. You owe me," his voice whispered in my ear, in a wasted attempt to be seductive. Honestly, he could be the hottest boy alive and I wouldn't be seduced right now. I was horribly disgusted with him, dragging me into a dark practice room right before a football game.

"Ed. Let go," I whispered, trying to keep my voice strong, but I could feel it cracking as I futilely let out the last word, "Please,"

He laughed. It was a twisted shadow of the beautiful pure laughter I'd come to expect from his mouth. Until I broke up with him that is. After that, it had become this awful, twisted thing with a bitterly sarcastic edge permanently tainting the bellowing deep notes. And the worst part: it was my fault. Completely, totally mine. I could barely believe how much of a butt I'd been. A bright light flooded my eyes and I squinted as the light fell upon Ed pulling back my scrawny leg, his jet black hair shagging over his eyes, blocking the light.

"Let her go Ed," a shadow at the door announced, the overpowering light whirling around her like those giant pictures of Jesus at churches, so I couldn't see her shadowy figure. At this moment, she might as well have been Jesus in my eyes.

"Why should I listen to you?" he sneered, his angry dark brown eyes glaring at the shadow through his bangs, trying to identify my savior. I could have sworn I heard a low hiss from under the hair curtain, but I was so terrified it could have been anything.

The shadow reached out and grabbed my sweaty palm, pulling me up onto my feet and out of the dark shadows. In the light of the hallway I could see her face. She was clad in the same red polo shirt that I was, the _Merryweather Marching Band_ embroidered on her chest was fraying, as was mine. Her baggy tan shorts were barely above the required uniform length, which left her extraordinarily pale legs open until they reached her white socks and sneakers. Back at her face, her curly reddish brown hair was thrown in a messy ponytail, loose hairs framing her pale, freckled face. Her deep chocolate brown eyes stood out against her pastel skin and deep purple bags under them. Her lips were turned up in a slight smile as she looked at me.

"Holly," I sighed in relief, pleased it wasn't one of Ed's many ex girlfriends, intent on pulling me out with revenge and a severe beating in mind. Holly was the flute section leader, a senior who took major pride in her piccolo. She smiled and her slightly too large canines flashed light in my eyes.

"Wow, you look like a mess," I watched her eyes scan me from top to bottom, "You should be glad I pulled you out of the lion's den," her eyes flickered back to the practice room she'd just saved me from, where Ed sulked sadly, a hyena who'd lost his prey to a cheetah.

"Sorry," I apologized, despite myself, I felt guilty for making him so sad. I also apologized for looking like a mess, not that that was unusual in any way. She looked at me like I was crazy, so I quickly amended myself, "For ruining the perfect flute section," I shrugged. The first football game was the one where all the section leaders had to show off that they could take us from clumsy and sloppy to beautifully refined marching machines.

"Nah, I think I can fix this," she said cheerily, moment of fear for my sanity over, and she was completely sidetracked. She grabbed my wrist and began dragging me, again, to the bathroom. It was completely empty when we got there; the faded red stalls were the only thing to greet us. And the mirror in which I found my reflection, the reflection of Jasmine Flores. Yes, I am named after a flower with a flowery last name. But my reflection completely derailed me. I was extremely tan compared to Holly's unnatural paleness. My short dishwater blonde hair was in horrible tangles above my red-edged eyes. My eyes themselves were a fickle hazel color, they sort of changed shade to contradict my clothing. So, since I was wearing a baggy red polo shirt, which had become un-tucked from the also baggy (now bloodstained at the rims) tan shorts I was wearing, my eyes had become a rather murky almost sea green. I winced when I saw the bloody brush burn which had leaked onto my pants.

"Ug, I am a mess!" I exclaimed in shock, my own hazel eyes staring back at me in surprise. Holly was already running a brush roughly through my twisted hair, and I wetted a paper towel to dab at my battle wound. The paper towel burned my cut even worse and I winced. Fortunately the pain of my carpet wound blocked out all of the thoughts of Ed in the band closet. And I thought all guys named Edward were supposed to be hot sexy and nice. Apparently Twilight lied to me. Humph.

Finally, I was repaired. Holly was wrapping a make-shift paper towel and masking tape bandage around my cut as I washed my face, trying to get the salty tear stains off of it. It worked. I looked as though I'd fallen in the parking lot on my way into the band room. Problem solved. At least on the outside. My insides were turmoil. If someone could cut me open and look inside, there would be swirling black thoughts floating through my veins like rush hour traffic on Route 22.

Ed wasn't my only problem you see. I mean, obviously, he thought I broke up with him as some sort of joke and was now trying to rape me instead. The practice room was only the most recent of his hunting range. He'd already tried my locker, the little alcove that leads into the very girl's bathroom I was exiting, the instrument closet. And that was only the beginning. But there were other dark thoughts floating in my mind. Holly's sudden paleness and almost unnoticeable change in dental hygiene had not gone past my sponge like eyes. They absorbed every detail in an almost supernatural sort of way. And I had my own supernatural theories about Holly and the few others who'd turned up like this. And somehow, I think I got it right on the nose. They were definitely vampires. Or at least I was about ninety percent sure.

But the only way to find out for sure was to ask them and my shy nature made me bite my lip every time I planned to ask. Something about how… human they looked turned me off. I sighed, avoiding Holly's gaze as we opened the door to the band room.

The band room was in its usual turmoil, especially before the first game. Freshman ran around shrieking about various things they'd forgotten, upperclassman obsessively polished their instruments, and the drum majors went over the complicated parts of the show. It was a comforting turmoil, however, the feeling you get when you walk into a well-worn home and two siblings are fighting over some stuffed animal they both love. It took my mind off of my problems as I began the careful process of putting all three pieces of my flute together. That part was easy. The hard part was not getting too many fingerprints on it.

Holly's piccolo was suddenly in my face, causing me to rear instinctively back, bumping into Colleen, a freshman flute, who then tumbled into a pile of stands. I ignored the clattering the plastic made on the floor as I glared at Holly.

"Does this look clean?" she asked innocently, shoving it closer to my eyes, to the point where it was little more than a silver blur. I honestly couldn't see if the blur was clean, again stumbling back, but this time Colleen had the sense to run.

"Holly, I can't see it if it's in my face," I informed her, resisting the urge to shove my spotless shiny flute into her face. She moved it farther away, and I could see the rosy tone of her blush as she did so. I rolled my eyes, and then appraised, "Looks good here."

She smiled happily, "Thanks Jazz!" she then turned, as though sensing another, more interesting presence behind her, "Izzy! Look look, I cleaned my piccolo and it's beautiful and I really need to talk to you about that pancake thing…" I stopped listening after that. Izzy was Holly's boyfriend of almost two years, ever since I'd met her. He was the opposite of her: tall, quiet, grounded. But opposites attract, right? I sighed, turning away from them, not even bothering to try to get into their conversation.

Instead I headed towards the small, gray door in the opposite corner of the band room, dodging flying reeds and ducking under the music stands that people carried from their warm up places. As I pushed open the door, the grim gray light from outside fell into the florescent light and I walked through the threshold. The air was thick with humidity, yet still refreshing as I breathed it in, away from the stuffy band room, the false pretenses, the double standards, and the friendly faces within. I was free to break down as planned.

I sat on the hard concrete step outside of the bustling room, all the sounds now far away. I'd never felt so alone in my life as I looked out at the gathering clouds, mirroring the feeling within my heart. The feeling of a storm on the horizon, something was coming, but I didn't know what. I lay down against the rough concrete, laying my flute across my waist, balanced precariously, ready to tip. Just like me.

"Jasmine Flores!" a commanding voice decreed, interrupting my calming process. I cracked an eyelid momentarily, but let it droop back down. Honestly if that was Holly checking to see if I was still clean I'd beat her down. Could vampires get beat down? Who knew?

"JASMINE. NICOLE. FLORES." The voice yelled louder. I sighed, and then stretched to show the voice that I was listening. It didn't continue, and I could hear the impatient tapping of a foot on the concrete. I sat up and opened my eyes, letting in the dreary light of the dusk. I found myself face-to-face with a rather regal looking man, his brown hair flopping over his green eyes. I yelped, realizing that I didn't recognize this man. I was going to be raped twice in one day! Or rather, almost raped twice.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" I snapped, not in the mood for a random confrontation now.

He smiled cheerily, realization dawning in his green eyes, "Rough day?" he asked conversationally. I glared at him until his gaze faltered, "I am Dominique, but you can call me Dommi," I ignored how gay his name sounded in my mind, letting it slip away into the dark abyss of my stormy thoughts.

"Why would I want to do that?" I asked, letting the acid seep into my voice. I had to tell myself that he was not Ed. He looked so much like him, the way his hair flopped over his eyes, the unfathomable depth his eyes held, even though they were different colors. The two colors that made my eyes, I realized with a start. I shook it off quickly, it didn't belong in my mind, it belonged in the corner with the other dark thoughts.

"It doesn't belong there," Dominique whispered quietly, almost as if to himself, "Such trouble you have gone through for love," he sighed, looking up at the approaching storm, "And so much trouble still to come. It is rather… tragic," his voice had become so quiet that I had to hold my breath to hear the last word.

"What're you talking about?" I quickly denied, not letting on that he was right. I could feel it in my gut, what had just happened was not even close to what was coming. I sat, listening to him breathe.

He just smiled at me knowingly, and shook his head before his eyes fell onto my flute, "May I see that?" he asked cheerily, reaching for it. I flinched away, pulling the silver instrument with me. "I suppose not then," he sighed, turning back to the sky.

The silence between us quickly became awkward, so I interjected a rather rude, "What is it that you want exactly?"

He laughed, "Don't you already know?" I looked up at him with surprise filling my eyes, and I could see that his brow was furrowed in true confusion. Then realization dawned in those green eyes again, "Ah, I forgot," he shook his head again, "You are so delicate, young human," The last word was unexpected. "Do you know of us yet?" he asked mysteriously, his eyes boring into mine.

"Who?" I whispered, watching his every move, waiting for him to turn and run, to disappear into the darkening sky. At least that's what I hoped he'd do. He was ticking me off.

He shook his head again, "I will return when you know. And trust me, I will know when you are sure that you know," he stood in one brisk movement, and I found myself staring at khaki corduroy pants. So I shakily pulled myself up to meet his eyes. They were amazingly level with mine. "Stop denying it Ms. Flores," he said quietly, intensely, "You know, and I know that you know. So don't deny it anymore," his whisper was passionate, but I wasn't caught up in it anymore. What I was hooked on was the sound of my name coming from his resonant voice, especially the wrong name. I hated being called Flores. He was turning to leave now, "Goodbye Jazz," I heard the smile in his voice. _What was he, a know it all?_ I thought to myself.

I could have sworn that I heard a quiet "Yes" in the large clap of thunder that followed Dominique's departure.

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So, this is my first story ever... I did a little breif writing for other things, but this is the first story that actually took off. So some important things you should know... Merryweather Heights High School/Town do not exist as far as I know. Please tell me if they do. Also, Reviews and criticism are love! I should have Chapter 2 up later, for those of you interested.


	2. Ch 2: Marimba Madness

Well, here's Chapter 2. Yeah, I know, I'm a slow-poke but that's only because it was the end of school. Graduation parties, playing oboe at graduation (Pomp and Circumstance is an embouchure-killer!), finals, being elected band treasurer... phew I had a crazy two weeks. I promise the chapters will be more frequent during the summer, except not next week because I'm going on a family vacation, so I'll try to squeeze Ch. 3 in this week.

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Chapter 2:

The marimba rattled as it was pushed through the rain and surrounded by big, colorful umbrellas. My own umbrella was big and blue with white stars on it. I hit a rock with my foot and stumbled a bit just as a voice yelled out to me from across the big wooden instrument.

"Jazz, move your umbrella a little to the right!" I grasped the side of the marimba with one hand to steady myself, and then moved my umbrella to my right.

The boy directing me glared across the marimba at me, pulling it towards the trailer with his other hand, "My right, not yours!" He held his own green umbrella above the marimba with his left hand, where it bumped into another, but protected the instrument effectively.

"Well, geez Mike be more specific next time!" I grumbled, shifting the umbrella to my left. The little droplets of water began to fall on me instead of the instrument, which even under its protective black cover, was in danger of being wet and ruined. Or at least this was Mike's opinion on the matter. Mike was very paranoid about his pit instruments. He was a junior, just like me, and was staring at me from across the marimba with worry in his deep brown eyes. Oh God, now he was worried about me too?

"What?" I demanded, glaring back at him. His gaze faltered and he looked down. I felt bad, Mike was really sweet. We'd met our freshman year, when we'd marched next to each other. He'd played clarinet up until this year, when he moved to pit.

"I'm just… worried about you," he looked up at me again, looking guilty. I sighed, and raised an eyebrow, "No, seriously. Mostly because of what Ed's been doing. He talks to me during study hall about hunting you down. I always tell him that you're not into him and I lie about where you are during the day," Mike practically made my heart break right there. His loyalty to me was absolutely stunning. Most people would have just given into Ed's creepy and incessant begging to find out my location throughout the school day. But Mike chose to keep it a secret, and would probably have to lock himself in a practice room to keep Ed from attacking him.

"Thanks Mike," I said, feeling the blush spread across my wet cheeks, "Ooh, here's the trailer," Normally, for home games we simply pushed all of the pit equipment across the school parking lot and a tiny road to get to the big stadium, but since it was pouring, we decided it would be easier to push them into our trailer and drive them over.

The trailer was a big white box, hooked up to a black truck. On the side a big, ice-skating penguin was painted. He wore a red scarf, which flew out behind him with the momentum of his skating. Behind his red ice skates were a plethora of painted ice-shavings, all decorated to look like music notes. Instead of a hockey stick, he held a flute. The music department thought they were really witty for changing the school mascot around.

We pushed the marimba up the ramp in the back, where it made a few rather unsettling sounds until we finished pushing. Mike secured it with a few colorful bungee chords and we headed back outside into the rain.

"Butt-slam!" Nick shouted, slapping Mike in the butt with a closed, wet umbrella. He jogged past us, his shaggy brown hair laying flat in the wet rain. Mike yelled after him, closing his own green umbrella, and chased Nick down in the parking lot. Nick was another junior, who played trumpet.

"Run Nick Run!" I yelled with a chuckle, keeping my own umbrella above my head, where it belonged. That is, until Nick announced a sneak-attack and rapped my butt with his umbrella and jogged off. Now, Mike and I were both chasing him around the parking lot, yelling lots of profanities.

"C'mon guys, let's go over to the stadium! You're gonna be late!" The three of us, all of whom had luckily been wearing our rain jackets, glanced up to see the assistant drum major attempting to drag her ladder out of the door, while balancing a raincoat over her shoulder. Her long blonde hair fell over the black raincoat, sticking to it a little where it was wet. She glanced at us pleadingly with her big blue eyes, and Mike and Nick both headed over to help her with her ladder, which she used to stand on during the show. I snatched her rain-coat and helped her put it on.

"Thanks Jazz," she said with a smile, and handed me my flute from under her arm, where it had been hiding underneath her raingear, "I found this laying on a chair inside. I think you left it when you went to help Mike," I pulled my flute apart, tucking the pieces into my overly large rain coat pockets.

"Thanks Amy, I left it inside because it was starting to rain, remember?" I'd told Jenna to watch it. Obviously that was a mistake, that little freshman hated my guts. I'd have to remind myself to get Holly to yell at her later.

Mike and Nick started carrying the ladder across the parking lot, and Amy and I followed on either side of them, letting the rain pound down on us, all of our umbrellas left on the step in front of the band room door, forgotten.

"God, my throat hurts," Amy muttered, "I've felt like poo for the last day or so," Now that she mentioned it, my throat ached a bit too.

"Me too," Mike and Nick said at the same time. They looked at each other and Nick yelled out, "Jinx you owe me a soda!" and Mike muttered, "Goddamn it,"

"Hey, language mister," Amy snapped, shaking her head a bit, "But you guys have sore throats too?" we all nodded, "Something must be going around,"

"My stomach hurts a little bit too. Whatever I ate for dinner does not agree with me," I groaned, rubbing my gurgling stomach. It gurgled even more, probably audibly, and then I opened my mouth and let out a belch that would rival those fat guys on TV who're in food eating contests.

"Nice one!" Nick laughed, reaching over to high-five me. "I wish I could belch like that… oh wait, I can," he gave a ridiculous demonstration of his belching skills. I rolled my eyes, and Amy grabbed my arm. I almost fell on my butt in the grass.

"Hey, you almost walked into the street there!" she gasped as a red car that threatened to run us over whizzed by, splashing water all over our little group. I hadn't realized we'd reached the end of the parking lot, and were now just across the street from our stadium. The big lights lit up the rain and the football players who were now walking towards it.

"Sorry, I'm a little scattered," I muttered in apology. Amy's grip remained on my arm as she practically drug me across the tiny street towards the stadium.

"But seriously, going back to the original topic, maybe you have strep," Mike suggested with a shrug, "You should talk to Brent. His dad's a doctor. Have you ever met Dr. Samuelson?" Of course I'd met Dr. Samuelson. He was my doctor, and he looked exactly like an older version of Brent. Brent was tall, blonde, bright blue eyes, and pretty attractive. Dr. Samuelson was a tad bit plumper and his blonde hair was balding, but other than that, they were clones.

"I bet it's strep," Amy nodded, attempting to confirm Mike's theory, "It's highly contageous, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and once anyone in the band gets something..." Nick trailed off with a slight shudder. None of us needed the shout-out to last year's dating spree. The band bus had been a rather horny area at the time. He'd been one of them.

That's when the least experienced out of all of us spoke up"With spit valves and blowing your gross contaminated air all over the place..."

"Amy, that's not what I was talking about," Nick interupted, "Way to be totally naive,"

"Aw, leave her be Nick," Mike said with a chuckle, throwing his arms around Amy, "She's my little naive woman!" He laughed really loudly, and despite her pleas, planted a huge slobbery kiss on her cheek, "I love you soooo much!"

"That's cute," a new voice commented, "A blob of stupid little juniors," Ed's brown eyes glared at me from underneath his deep, black hood. I swear he looked like the grim reaper right about now.

"Back off Edward," Nick sneared, taking a defensive position in front of the Mike, Amy, and me. We'd backed off slightly, and Amy's hand slipped into Mike's, not in romance, but in fear. Everyone, not just me, knew that Ed had gone off the deep end lately. Just the sight of him was enough to send the freshman screaming for their moms.

"Back off? Why should I trumpet prodegy?!" Ed seemed to bloat up, puffing out his chest defiantly. Nick looked like one of the seven dwarfs next to Ed. He slowly lifted his hand, and flicked Ed off. "That's it you little whiny bitch!" Ed lunged, tackling Nick to the hard concrete ground. It was dark enough to not alert anyone from the stadium of the tussle, but I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Nick was kicking in vain at Ed with blows that would have crippled any other man, but Ed was resilient, and punched Nick hard in the eye.

"Get off of him!" Mike yelled, his voice rising three octives, "That's not funny!" He reached over for Ed, trying to snatch him, but Ed's flailing hands caught Mike across the arm, leaving three long, bloody scratches, "Damn, his nails are sharp!"

"Should I get help?!" Amy yelped, looking remarkably like a deer in the headlights. She stood roughly five feet away from the fight, frozen in place, blue eyes wide. I was across the fight from her, staring back at her, when I noticed something a little bit disturbing in her eyes. Her eyes were a bright, crystal clear blue normally, but I saw a strange tint around the outsides of her irises, something that could have passed for a trick of the light. A strange, violet tinge was in her eyes today, and I wasn't sure why. It had to have something to do with the... others.

"Jazz!" Amy shrieked, jerking me out of my disturbing thoughts, "What should I do?!" She was panicking, trying to get around the fight, where Mike was now trying to rip Ed off of Nick, who was floundering around like a fish out've water. Mike slid off of Ed's raincoat several times, and the boys were all soaked and covered in grass.

"We should get help!" I turned to begin to run away, but Ed's hand shot out like a rocket and locked around my ankle, rather remenicent of this morning. I shrieked, falling down on my face in the wet grass. I heard Amy's sloshy footsteps coming towards me, but I pulled my face out of the grass long enough to scream, "Go, Amy, get help!" She took off, leaving smooshy wet grass in her footsteps.

"Well, you all work well as a team," A nonchalant voice noted from somewhere above me. Ed's hand loosened as the fighting paused, if only for a moment. I sat up, noting that Nick had an eye that was rapidly swelling, and he was also bleeding on his ankles. Mike had less severe cuts and bruises scattered around his body. Ed was completely unscathed, but my ankle was sore where he'd grabbed me. I was sure that I was going to be black and blue tomorrow. Then I turned to our unwelcome guest.

Amy hadn't exactly chosen the best adult (or older teen, I wasn't really sure) to come to our rescue. Dommi was leaning against one of the stadium's many random chain-link fences (apparently there had been a lot of crime last year, so we'd gotten some Rent-a-Fences), his green eyes full of laughter and an amused smile on his face. I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to get up and punch him in the face.

"Hello Jasmine," he said with that same amused smile plastered all over his face, "Long time no see," I rolled my eyes again, "This must be Mike the pit kid, Nick the trumpet prodegy, and Ed the lovely ex-boyfriend Mellophone player,"

"She's not my ex," Ed grumbled, spitting out some blood into the grass. Nick must've knocked one've his teeth around pretty badly. Kudos to him.

"Yes, I am," I corrected him brusquely, not bothering with the entire story. Dommi didn't need to know our story. It was long, and dumb, and involved many, many insults from both sides.

Dommi chuckled, sounding amused once more, "Well, you two have some issues to work on," he observed, then glanced up, "Ah, here comes Amy with her help, so I suppose I should be going now," he disengaged himself from the fence, looked both ways, and jogged across the street back towards the band room, waving to a few football fans as he went. They waved back, looking slightly confused.

Ed grumbled something incomprehensible, pushing up off of the grass as he futiley attempted to brush grass off of his rain jacket, "This isn't over," he said to Mike and Nick, who just glared back, "and I _will_ find a way to make you mine again," he hissed as he passed me, his eyes meeting mine, a triumphant smile on his face. He thought he'd won, just like always.

"Hey, Ed?" I asked pleasantly, gazing up at him with a sick smile twisting my lips. He turned, waiting for my question, "F off," I told him politely. He turned, smashing his foot through the Rent-a-Fence before jogging off into the night. I sincerely hoped that he wouldn't come back for the football game. Maybe if I was lucky he'd get in trouble for skipping and have to sit third quarter for the rest of the year.

"Hey, Jazz, are you okay? You don't look so good..." Nick started. I was swaying on my feet, and I knew that wasn't good. The image of Brent and Izzy running towards me, accompanied by Amy was blurred around the edges. "Hey, guys, I think she's gonna pass out!" Nick yelled to Amy's help, as they jogged over faster, faster.

"Jazz? Jazz?!" Brent was yelling in his deep bass voice. Izzy reached over trying to shake me a little bit. Amy just squeezed my hand. They were blurring together, all of their panicked voices melding together until it fell both silent, and black.


	3. Ch 3: Awakening

Well, I'm back from my Disney vacation, and I got a lot of writing done within the last three days. I was kind of disappointed to see no reviews for last chapter but meh, I'll deal. Here is chapter three!

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My head throbbed like it was going to explode. A ticking time bomb. I suppose that meant I wasn't dead. I guess that was a good thing.

"I swear, I watched her like a hawk, nothing could have gotten in anything she's eaten recently. Nothing!" the voice that spoke out of the darkness sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. It was female. I wanted to tell her that I wasn't dead, that I could hear her, but nothing came out of my mouth.

"This isn't supposed to happen Holly!" An annoyed male voice practically yelled, causing my head to throb harder. "Did you pass out ridiculously before you changed?"

"No," the female, Holly, who I knew from somewhere, muttered. I tried to picture Holly in my head, but instead of clarity, a big blur of curly hair and maybe some freckles popped into my mind. The memory made my head throb.

"That was rhetorical," the male grumbled, and I sensed the awkwardness between them. It made my head throb. I recognized the male voice as well, and I tried to place him. It made my head throb.

"I would have noticed if she'd started to change, Brent, I kept an eye on her all the time!" Holly was angry now, her voice colored with discontent and guilt. I wanted to know why she was guilty and discontented, but thinking about it made my head throb.

"I know Holly," Brent sounded sad, "I kept an eye on Nick too, but he's showing the same signs as Jazz, just… not as severely," Nick? I tried to picture him in my mind as well. A bit of brown hair tussled around, and something sparkly and gold, but nothing concrete. My head throbbed.

I was laying on something warm and hard. The texture of it pushed into my back through the polo shirt I was wearing. My head was on something soft, and warmer than the bench. I wondered what it was, but my head just throbbed against it instead of giving me answers.

"How could they have been slipped something?" Holly muttered, seeming absolutely perplexed, "Nick **and** Jazz?"

I heard Brent's feet shuffle awkwardly on the bleachers, "Mike called my father a few days ago to make an appointment for a sore throat," he confessed. I felt something poking at my memory, a conversation with Mike about sore throats that could have taken place merely minutes ago or even days. The concept of time made my head throb.

"Who else then?" Holly sounded absolutely, horribly stunned, "If Mike, Nick, and Jazz… Oh God, there could be so many!" So many whats? I wondered. Juniors? Sure, there were about 20-something of us in marching band, but… I'd be damned if I could remember them all. The thought of them made my head throb.

"I know," Brent sighed, as if this knowledge were of great burden to him, "You said from the limited amount of things you could sense from Jazz's memories that maybe Amy might be changing too?" his voice was a question, and it got lower as he barreled to the end of something he obviously felt he didn't want to say aloud. Amy? My memories? My head throbbed. Finally, the pain got to me, and I let out a low groan in response. Both Holly and Brent's breaths caught.

"She's waking up, stow the chatter," Holly hissed at Brent, before turning to me, "Jazz? Sweetie?" I felt my eyes blink open, squinting under both the remainder of daylight and the bright stadium lights. They were too bright, causing my head to throb painfully. After I got past those, Holly's face was the first thing I saw. Her cheeks were a deep red with blush, probably because she'd realized that I may have heard part of her conversation while in the dark. Her expression was worried and concerned. Brent's face was impassive, but I saw strange emotions playing in his crystal-clear blue eyes when I turned to him. His blond hair sagged towards my face as he leaned in, and my breath caught momentarily at how attractive he was. My head began to throb even faster, so I continued to breathe evenly.

"How do you feel?" Holly asked, her voice seeping with worry. She was so sweet; I couldn't imagine living without her. I pondered how I felt. The pondering made my head throb, but I also became aware of a new pain.

"My throat hurts," I moaned, my voice sounding awfully dry and broken. At the realization that my throat hurt, it set upon burning even more, almost as if I was chugging liquid fire.

"Here," Holly handed me a white, Styrofoam cup which contained something steamy and warm. When I hesitated, wondering what could be inside the cup, Holly rolled her eyes and added, "It's hot chocolate silly," With that, I raised the cup to my lips and drank. Something about the flavor tasted wrong, but the heat felt good against my throat, extinguishing the fire for the time being. For a moment, I felt a bit better, but then I caught Holly shooting a panicked glance at Brent when she thought I wasn't looking. Great, something was wrong with me. I should have known.

"If you feel sucky tonight too, you could come over to my place and my dad could you know, give you a quick check-up," Brent offered, rubbing a hand through his hair sheepishly, "I'm having a big bonfire anyways, so you should come," He looked both expectant and troubled, his eyes locked on me.

"Will I be home late?" I croaked. My voice only sounded slightly better, "I'd have to call my parents to make sure if I would be late…" In Pennsylvania, there's a law about how between when you receive your driver's license and when you turn 17 and one half, or eighteen, depending on when you got your license, you get a "junior license". On this "junior" license, you can only drive from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. No earlier, no later. Once you turn 18, you can get your "senior" license, and you can drive whenever and wherever you want. I've had my license for about a month, so I couldn't drive after 11 p.m.

"It's a sleep-over deal," Brent confessed sheepishly, "You can just drive to practice tomorrow morning afterward,"

"Oh, I'll have to call my parents after the game," Getting past my mother would be easy, but my step-dad might be a bit… challenging. Roberto Flores and my mother met when I was six, three years after my biological father passed away. He was the area's top real-estate guy, helping my mom buy a house. They met at a fancy schmancy restaurant to discuss options about housing and school-districts, but when Roberto saw me sitting there, he declared that "we will go to Chuck-E-Cheese's now". He even helped me out of the tubes when I got stuck. Brave man. My mother started dating him shortly after buying a house, and they were married when I was nine. My step brother and sisters were born, Kylie and Brody age six, and Hope age two. My big friendly black lab, Shadow also came along (she's three). She loves everybody except for Roberto. I guess he smells funny or something.

Brent nodded, he knew how stubborn Roberto could be; he'd sold the Sanderson family their house. Holly opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when she saw that our band director, Mr. Ladue, was heading straight for our make-shift hospital bleacher. Alongside our scrawny, middle-aged director stood the incarnation of the devil, or maybe Hitler. She was tall, thin, muscled, and blond. Most of the band guys had thought Lorelei, the color guard instructor/reincarnation of Hitler, was a hottie until she begun her hostile band take-over. It was thanks to her that last year's show had been more focused on dance moves than music.

She looked at me with a smirk that suggested that she enjoyed my pain. Holly was glaring at her with open hatred and Brent lowered his eyes to the floor awkwardly, not wishing to look at Color guard Bitch. Pardon my French.

"You feel okay to march Jasmine?" Mr. Ladue asked kindly, completely oblivious to the suddenly hostile atmosphere.

"It's halftime already?!" I gasped in utter disbelief. I'd been out for **TWO QUARTERS?!** What the hell was wrong with me?

"Five minutes until it, actually," Lorelei announced triumphantly. She knew that not-marching was one of the worst things you could make a band-o do, so she was trying to make me sit out. Kicking me while I was down, so to speak. I would never miss the first performance of a season. Never.

"I'm okay to march Mr. Ladue," I announced as I pushed suddenly achy body upright, off of the lukewarm bleachers. Holly grabbed my hand to help pull me up, and I noted how icy her hand was. When my feet hit the ground, I felt overcome by a wave of dizziness, and Brent caught my arm before I toppled. His grip was icy cold too. Much too cold for late August in Pennsylvania. It was almost ninety degrees out still.

"You can't let her march in this condition!" Lorelei gasped as she pathetically attempted to sound horrified by the idea of me marching. The effect was diminished by the death glare she was shooting at me. I let my gaze falter as I looked down at the bleachers.

"I'm fine," I insisted, and I began searching desperately from my flute, which seemed to have disappeared.

"Jasmine, just sit down, don't worry about it," Mr. Ladue instructed, looking defeated under Lorelei's glare.

"Bur Mr. Ladue, I want to march!" I insisted, suddenly feeling like stamping my foot, "I'm fine!" The foot stamping urge caused me to stumble instead. What was wrong with me? My head throbbed once more.

Holly swooped in to save me, "I bet if she goes to the bathroom for about…" she glanced at the clock, "Three minutes to cool down, she'll be right as rain,"

Mr. Ladue considered this, "Make it two minutes and we're go to march," He avoided Lorelei's angry gaze as they turned away. As he began the band's migration on-field, Lorelei shot me an angry, hateful glance during which I swear I saw her baby-blue's flash an angry crimson. I shuddered.

"Thanks Holly," I muttered as I quickly broke my gaze from Lorelei's, "I owe you one,"

"Anytime. Colleen has your flute. Be on-field in two and she'll help you tune," Holly got up to leave, along with Brent, whom I noticed was wearing his tenor sax around his neck.

"Aren't you coming with me?" I asked, my voice once again losing strength and lucidity. It had been Holly's idea after all, so why not accompany me?

"Nah, I gotta go section leader the freshies or else they'll get crazy," With that, she scooped up her piccolo and jogged after the band.

Brent and I locked eyes awkwardly for a moment. He dropped his gaze, turning to leave before looking back for a split second and saying, "I'm sorry," He left without another word.

I didn't want to think about Brent's apology, my mysterious illness, or Lorelei's hateful bitch-ness. I pushed those things into the dark corner of my mind as I walked to the bathroom, thinking only about the people who stared at me like I had a third eye. I bet I looked awful.

I sighed loudly, sliding into the brick building that housed our women's restrooms. It was empty; all of the fans wanting to catch the end of the first half. I sauntered over to the sink, methodically splashing cool water into my face. I felt slightly better until I looked up. When I looked up, my heart dropped roughly five feet in my chest.

Staring back at me was me, of course. Her hair was ruffled from lying on the ground; her shirt was slightly wrinkled and unhappy. I noted that her black raincoat had disappeared somewhere, Holly had probably moved it. None of these things mattered when my eyes found the mirror-me's eyes.

Her hazel eyes had made a fairly drastic color change. Normally, they swapped from blue to green to brown and back again. Anyone who didn't know better would think that the brown had taken over, but I'd stared into these eyes to know that this wasn't normal. A strange, crimson tinge was slowly overcoming the other colors in my eyes. Blue and green had already almost disappeared, brown remaining to level it out. My eyes looked like a day-old scab, like dried blood.

I wanted to cry as I realized what these eyes meant. They meant that my friends were indeed creatures of the night. And from what I could tell, I was becoming one as well. Crap.

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**Author's Note:**

Yeah, this chapter was a lot of dialogue but trust me, deadly choices and lots of band music and jokes are coming up in the future! I should have a new chapter up sometime within the next week.


	4. Ch 4: The Truth

Hm, well I lied last week when I said I'd have it up within a week. I meant a week and two days... *innocent face*. Thanks for the reviews, you guys are absolutely wonderful!

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Chapter 4: The Truth

"Where the hell've you been?!" Holly practically shrieked at me as I jogged over, tears streaming out of my eyes as I sobbed ridiculously. This day had been awful. First, I'd almost been raped. Then, I passed out. Now, I was turning into God only knows what and it was killing me. Literally, I think. I could feel my strength waning as the running exhausted me faster than usual. I'd only jogged the second half of the football field, when, through my tears, I'd noticed the big blinking clock that said 1:41. Luckily, there was a penalty or something, so I'd made it in time.

"The bathroom," I choked out, looking up at Holly. I could only imagine what she saw in my face, because I watched her angry, disappointed look soften into something more sympathetic and worried. "I think there's something _wrong_ with me," I gauged the reaction in her brown eyes as they widened with horror and shock.

"What's wrong Jazz?" Her eyes flickered from my eyes to my mouth suspiciously. Nothing sat in her deep brown eyes but worry and sympathy.

"I… I…." I choked on the words, trying to push them out. My burning throat felt like it was constricting, locking the awful truth inside of me. I had to tell Holly. I had to make her fix it. I just knew, instinctively down in my gut that she could make me better. I just had to find out how. I settled for begging her with big, tear filled eyes. My mom used to say that I was better at begging than my dog. I guess I was just good at making my hazel eyes sparkle with just enough tears and widen with just enough innocence to make people buy my sadness. If my mom saw me now, I was sure she'd think I was faking.

"Sweetie," Holly stated in a sad, slow voice, "We need to talk. You, me. Third quarter." She looked at me again with that same pity, "You need to make a choice,"

"Is it a tough one?" I managed to croak out, a few more tears spilling over my cheeks. I sniffled in my snotty nose. Holly opened her mouth to answer when Colleen and another freshman headed over.

"Here's your flute," Colleen muttered, handing me the silver instrument, "I tuned it the best I could without you…" her gaze held mine for a split second, but she quickly looked down. She was both smart and polite enough to not ask any questions. I smiled in thanks, even though I knew it wouldn't be in tune since I hadn't played it.

The other freshman, on the other hand, was a gossip hound. She wanted gossip for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She thrived off of it. It was her life. And the way she was looking at my horribly crumpled in form, I knew she wanted me next. She was like a gossip-pire, but instead of blood, she ate people's news.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked me, her hungry brown eyes staring up at me with interest. Her eyes weren't a sweet, soft brown like Holly's. They were a sharp, nasty poop colored brown, that made you kind of want to gag.

"I'm sick," I informed her curtly, crossing my arms protectively across my chest.

"No, you look fine to me, besides the crying and the sniffling," she stepped up on her tippy-toes, attempting to look into my eyes, which I had covered with a pair of sunglasses that I'd found lying on the bathroom counter, abandoned due to the previous rain storm.

"Jenna, shut up please," Holly interrupted politely, "Jazz is sick, she doesn't need you bothering her, m'kay?" Jenna continued to glare at me, still on her tip-toes, "Go to your line-up spot, NOW," With that, Jenna turned on her heels and stalked over towards the forming walk-on line. It was full of jittery freshman, chatty sophomores, and half-asleep seniors, which was perfectly normal. It was the juniors that made me do a double-take. My eyes fell upon the trumpet section first, where Nick was sitting on the ground with Kate Simon, the senior section leader, pushing a big happy face ice pack against his forehead. She asked him a question, and he nodded, looking almost like he was going to throw up. Her big blue eyes found Holly, and I felt both of their gazes fall on me for a moment. I quickly moved on. I passed over the trombone section, where mostly they were jumping on each other and singing stupid songs, quickly passed over the mellophone, not wanting Ed to catch me looking, and I found the saxophone section.

Most people in the saxophone section are jerks. The tenor saxes are kind of slow and stupid, or rather, the freshman in that section is slow and stupid. Bridget, my other best friend besides Holly, was smart and took basically all AP classes. And then there was Brent, who was chatting with her casually. I passed the tenors, my eyes landing on the altos. My eyes sought out the three people I liked there. Sadie Savage was a senior, and one of the most sought after girls, although her heart only belonged to Nick. They'd broken up last year, and neither could get over each other. In fact, at this very moment, her big green eyes were locked on him, full of worry, concern, and sad knowledge. So she was in on whatever this "disease" was as well. Finally she turned to Josh Peters, the senior who'd been yapping in her ear while she'd been looking at Nick and shook her head, her short blonde hair swishing from side to side as she did so.

"Jazz, Holly, c'mon guys, I've gotta get the band going," We both turned to see the head drum major, Eve, standing beside us with a big worried look on her face, which seemed to be the theme of the night. Eve stood about two inches shorter than me, with brown-almost-blond curly hair that fell to her shoulders. She looked up at Holly and I with her big blue eyes, but I noticed a look pass between Holly and Eve, a look I wasn't supposed to see. I sighed loudly, attempting to get the attention away from the weirdness.

"Are you alright, you don't look so good?" Eve asked, cocking her head to the side. I sighed again, then shook my head. "You want to sit out?" She asked, gazing over at the side of the field, where the pit was hooking their instruments up to "The Gator". It was a big green tractor that they'd lovingly named Gator and painted to look like a gator. I noticed that Mike was slipping over his marimba a little bit, his hands fumbling as he tried to attach it. I looked down at my own sweaty palms, wondering if Mike had the same problem.

I finally tore my eyes away from him, "No, the show must go on, right?" I laughed, but it was dry and didn't sound like my laugh, "Let's just get on field," I reached over for Holly's hand, tempted to drag her to the walk-on myself. She reluctantly let me take her icy cold hand in my clammy one as we walked over, leaving a very concerned Eve behind.

"Seriously though Jazz. I've gotta talk to you. I think you're worse than we thought…" Holly trailed off, biting her lower lip nervously. I sighed, wishing that I wasn't the cause of her anxiety.

"Worse than who thought? Holly, you're acting weird…" this time I trailed off, unable to say anymore. I felt the deep knowledge of what she was tumble in my stomach and I found myself biting _my _lower lip.

Holly inhaled, but didn't exhale. She just kept looking at me, her breath caught in her chest, as though I'd spoken aloud. As though I'd actually said… _that word_ out loud. Finally, she released the breath in a shaky laugh that didn't convince me at all, "Um… well you'll see third quarter I guess?" She'd made it a question. It was my choice.

"I guess we will." I confirmed, turning away from her. I stopped in my spot in the walk-on, three flutists behind Holly. I marched in the "F4" position this year, where as she was "F1", the section leader position. Unfortunately, being F4 required being behind F3, who was none other than my favorite freshman in the entire world… Jenna. She was staring at me, so I raised one hand and waved nervously, keeping the other one securely on my flute.

"You guess you and Holly will what?" she asked nosily, her beady poop eyes glaring at me with too much interest.

"Go out for pizza on Saturday," I lied smoothly, "Since I'm not feeling well tonight, we figured we'd get pizza tomorrow after practice instead," I didn't think she bought it, but there wasn't much time for that. Eve was glaring at us with that 'you-need-to-be-in-the-ready-position' glare. I winked at Jenna as she reluctantly turned around, then spread out my legs and put my flute down between them.

Eve smiled at me, mouthed "thank you" before yelling at the top of her lungs, "BAND DETAIL ATTEN-HUT!"

I snapped to attention, yelling "Hut!" with the rest of the band, although mine was considerably weaker. God, my throat ached! I inhaled, exhaled, attempting to calm myself, to replace my current terrified thoughts of sickness and fear with thoughts of the show. Our show this year was called "The Stages of Death," courtesy of Lorelei's stupid band take-over. Sure, I thought the theme was pretty cool, but the name had to go. Tonight we performed only the opener, which was called "Living in Sin". It was supposedly about going to Vegas and doing bad things such as gambling and having sex with random prostitutes, thus getting many STDs that would kill you just in time for the ballad. At least, that was Holly, Josh, and our theory. We'd had a long discussion about it during band camp.

And so, with Eve's "Mark-time-mark," I marched onto the field, and played my heart out. Or rather I would have, if my throat didn't ache too much to put significant air through my flute. I felt like a fourth grader again, unable to hit the really high notes, which was even worse during the woodwind feature when Holly glanced at me with her peripherals. I produced the majority of the noise, not counting her and her piccolo, in the flute section. I was beastly at high notes. But nothing came out of my flute. I wanted to cry. Hard.

I think I did cry a little as we walked off-field, the silent tears sliding down my cheeks. Holly caught up to me when we were released for third quarter. I'd been heading for the bathroom, hoping to get all of this wimpy crying out of my system. I didn't know how much more I could cry.

She grabbed my shoulder, not hard, but enough to pull me out of my power walk towards the bathroom. "Jazz, it's okay. The woodwind feature will be there next week, and during practice tomorrow, and at Championships. Really, it's okay," She patted my shoulder when I didn't turn around. "Come on, Jazz," she said, "Tell me what's wrong,"

Her offer was tempting, but I felt _that word_ tumble in my stomach again. I wanted to run and hide from her, from _that word, _from my life. I finally turned around to look at Holly, and instantly the instinct to run, to hide, just evaporated. She was biting her lower lip, barely containing the trembling. Her hair had fallen out of its messy bun, cascading in pretty waves down her back, but still managing to look disheveled. I knew that she was on the verge of crying too.

"Holly…" I muttered, wringing my hands awkwardly, unable to shake the guilt for making her feel like that, "I… I just…" My words felt broken, felt wrong. I couldn't seem to ask her the right questions, "Um, let's walk?" I suggested weakly. She started to walk alongside me towards the snack stand.

"Jazz. Was it Jenna? Seriously, I can get Nick or Brent to beat the hell out of her for you, I'll hold her back if you wanna punch," As ridiculous as her words sounded, she was serious.

"Tempting," I twisted my lips into a wry smile, "But what's really wrong is that I feel like shit, almost got raped in a dark practice room, passed out in the wet grass after my friends fought for me, and I screwed up the show. Did I miss anything?"

Holly smiled and chuckled sadly, "Well, you may have missed the fact that later you're going to have to get past Roberto to get to Brent's house," Damn it, I'd forgotten about the bonfire. And Roberto. God, Roberto was going to slaughter me if I didn't call him. "No worries though," she continued, "He'll probably let you go if you tell him that it's to visit Dr. Sanderson," My stomach flipped when she said that. I knew it was a lie. I wasn't going to visit Dr. Sanderson at all.

"I'm… not going to visit Dr. Sanderson, am I?" I asked slowly, all of the joking air evaporating immediately. Holly stopped in her tracks, causing about three grumpy football fans to grumble about "band nerds" before jogging around her.

"No. You're not," she admitted slowly, unwilling to give anything else up. She was silent. I stared at her, attempting to prompt more out of her, but she simply began walking towards the snack stand again.

I had to jog to catch up with her, "Holly, come on, please tell me what's going on!" I yelled over the crowd, dodging a group of Merryweather middle schoolers as I caught up to her, "Stop." She did. "Why won't you talk to me?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

"Because." She muttered, "I-I don't know what to say," Her eyes hit the ground, examining little pieces of gravel with sudden interest.

"You don't need to _say_ anything. Just start talking." I suggested calmly with a somewhat nonchalant shrug that felt more like a nervous twitch. She bit her lip again. "Just start at the beginning," I pleaded, trying to make eye contact with her. Finally, she lifted her head back up, and stared at me thoughtfully for a few moments.

"Take off the sunglasses," Holly instructed. I paused for a moment, and she repeated her instructions with more force, "Take them off," So I did. I pulled the sunglasses that didn't belong to me and were probably butt-ugly anyways, off. Her breath caught. I wondered how much red there was in my own eyes. There wasn't any in hers. I was tempted to ask why not, but that would require the use of… _that word._

Instead I asked, "What?" And she just shook her head, her curls bouncing around as we slipped back around the snack stand towards our "secret band area". It was a small grassy, fenced in area where they let us hang out before, after, and during games. There was a tiny medical area, which was soaking wet, which explained why my fainting spell had been taken care of in the bleachers, a big cooler full of free soda, and some discount hot dogs. She sighed, grabbing a hot dog and a Cherry Coke. She dropped four quarters into a little jar that was labeled "hot dog money". Most kids didn't bother to pay, and then we got in trouble. Finally I glanced back over at her, "Come on Holly. You've gotta tell me. You're my best friend," Yes, I felt bad for playing the best friend card, especially when her face fell even farther than it already had. She looked terribly, painfully sad. "Please." I snatched a Dr. Pepper out of the cooler while she decided.

She sighed heavily, and then finally grabbed my arm as she pulled me over towards the corner of our area, "Jasmine Flores," she pronounced my full name slowly, "I have known you since you were a little confused freshman with long hair and ugly glasses,"

"Hey, those glasses were not ugly!" I muttered. They were sitting at home on my dresser for late nights when I took my contacts out.

"Do you wanna hear it or not?" Holly snapped, and I just nodded as she continued, "And I never, ever ever thought I'd get this close to you. Hell, back then, I thought you were weird and awkward,"

"Thanks so much Holly," I grumbled defensively, "You make me feel so good about myself,"

She smiled slyly, "You didn't wait for the end. But now I know that you were and still are one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. You're nice, you're funny, you're a good musician, and even though you have too many problems to count, you usually don't let them get you down. I feel awful for being the next problem on your list."

"What do you mean?" I whispered, feeling terrified. _That word_ rolled in my mind again, but I knew that I knew virtually nothing. A word couldn't describe an object. It was easy to know that you were something, but it was hard to truly be it.

"Jazz, I feel awful for having to tell you this, but I, Holly Elizabeth Fisher, am a vampire. And it looks like you're turning into one too," With that, she lowered her eyes, and I could hear her sniffling, "I swear to God that I watched everything you did all summer, but apparently you're changing too and I don't know why!" Her voice was loaded with hurt and anguish. As creepy as that statement sounded, I felt a rush of pride. She cared about me enough to try to save me.

"So what?" I asked, attempting to sound casual as I wrapped my arms around my best friend in the world, not caring if she was dead, undead, or alive. _That word_ continued poking at my mind, trying to remind me that I shouldn't be hugging her, but I pushed it into the dark corner of my mind, "You're my best friend, you can help me through this. All you have to do is show me how."

"No," she shook her head, looking up at me with pain baking in her eyes, "You have to choose. It's really hard because either you end up eternally screwed up or…" she trailed off, swallowing her words.

"What? It can't be _that _bad," I could think of worse alternatives than being an eternally screwed up band kid with Holly and probably more of my friends. It seemed like these…_that word_ problems came in groups, not individuals. Most books about _that_ that I've read involved a coven of…_ those_, not just one.

"You die,"

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**Author's Note:**

And so, the truth was revealed. Or partially revealed. Mwahaha. This chapter was about 1,000 words longer than I generally write, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it off before the "You die" part. So more for you! Next chapter will be featuring Mr. Brent's bonfire and some more difinitive answers. I swear I'll have the next chapter up sooner. Last week was full of training for my job (I'm a hostess at Red Robin, which is this restaurant that seems to only exist in PA) and well... practicing oboe. I haven't played that thing for a signifigant amount of time since the graduation ceremony (Pomp and Circumstance _KILLS_ on a double-reed when the graduating class has 800-odd kids in it.) But yeah, no such distractions this week! :) So be expecting the next chapter... SOON!


	5. Ch 5: My Dead Father's Blessing

Yeah, so I epic failed at being quick with this chapter. I suffered from writer's block for about a week, then my computer ate the document. I deleted the entire middle section, opting for more at the end. But well, here it is finally. Not all of the answers lie within here, but Chapter 6 will not disappoint for answers.

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Ch. 5: My Dead Father's Blessing

"Jazz, you're hoooome!" Two little voices squealed excitedly in harmony, the male voice only slightly lower than the other. I looked up from the door-knob where I was pulling out my keys to find my little brother Brody and his twin, Kylie, sitting on the steps. Each had sleek blonde hair, just like my mother and big brown almost black eyes like Roberto. They were cute, but they were also six, so I wasn't pleased to see them awake at nine o'clock. The game had ended extremely early because we'd completely whooped the other team during the second half. Mercy rule had kicked in, and now I was here.

"What're you guys doing up?" I asked, keeping my voice light and airy, despite the fact that I still felt awful. Holly had given me some water with a tiny bit of her blood (eew) mixed in to stabilize my body enough for the bonfire tonight. She'd said that it wasn't enough to make me a vampire, but it would turn my eyes back to their cheery hazel color and keep me from dying, which I supposed was good. We'd had to sprint back to the stands so we weren't late from third quarter break, and the rest of the game had been completely uneventful.

"Mommy said we could wait up for you," Kylie started.

"Because Daddy's friend is over and we were so bored," Brody finished. The two of them spoke either in unison or finished each other's sentences all the time, because they were twins. Sometimes it was cute. Other times it was creepy.

"Daddy's friend?" I asked, and they both nodded, Kylie's blond pig-tails bobbing in unison with Brody's shaggy hair. Roberto never had friends over. Unless it was one of his clients, but I doubted that he'd have one over this late. I set out to find my mother instead of Roberto. It would be much easier to get to Brent's and make my fatal choice if Roberto didn't have to be involved.

"Jazz, wait," Kylie and Brody announced in unison, "We wanna give you goodnight kisses!" I smiled with a slight chuckle, but allowed them to bound over into my arms and give me hugs and kisses. "Night Jazz!" The two of them bounced up the stairs, trying to race to the top. I just laughed, shaking my head. They were cute.

My mom wandered slowly down the stairs about a moment later. She looked like an older, prettier version of me. Her long, blond hair was in a low ponytail that cascaded down her back. Her eyes were also hazel, but they had a lighter, greener tone to them. Beneath those eyes were deep purple bags.

"Hey Mom," I said, giving her a hug. She smiled faintly. "Grace didn't wanna sleep last night, huh?"

"Of course not. She's two and she still doesn't sleep," she sighed, shaking her head, "And Roberto's no help," she dropped into a rough manly voice with the slightest and most hilarious Spanish accent, "She will go back to sleep, just ignore her. I will roll over and ignore both her and you, gracias,"

I chuckled, shaking my head, "Oh, Mom," She laughed, and turned to leave, "Wait. Brent's having a sleep-over combo bonfire, and I was wondering if I could go?"

Her eyes narrowed, "A boy?"

"Yes Mom, but it's _definitely_ not like that," I stressed, pleading with my eyes. I wished I could tell her that it was life or death. I wished that I could tell her that my hours were limited, that I was going to be either dead or undead when I came home from practice tomorrow. My human hours ticked away, unbeknownst to my sweet, clueless mother.

"Is Holly going?" My mom asked, sounding slightly more convinced.

"Yes, and Bridget and Josh and Sadie and Amy and Eve and a lot more band people," I listed, not sure if any of those people besides Holly were even going, but it was better that my mom didn't know.

"Fine," She gave in, "But you do have to let Roberto know," she glared at me, but her glare was defeated by the amount of exhaustion placed in it. I felt bad for her, "What time do you need to be there?"

"Ten," I answered simply, "So I'm leaving at nine forty-five. Whether or not Roberto knows," I snapped before running up the stairs, leaving my mom standing alone and sad as I walked away from her.

I pushed open the door to my room, revealing a sloppy mess. The room was painted a light lilac color, with a few chips in the paint where my pre-teen posters had once hung. On my closet door, which was slightly ajar, hung pictures of my past, my present, and what appeared to now be my future. I looked at them, and it was impossible to pick one that made me any happier… or sadder.

A picture of Holly, Bridget, Sadie, and me on the Rock'n'Rollercoaster at Disney World during the band trip last year hung closest to me. Next to that was the Merryweather Marching Band Woodwinds 2008, the most recent picture of the entire band. Below that hung a picture of my father and a tiny, three year-old me as he pushed me on a tire swing hanging in a giant oak outside of our old house. The house my mother had left because she couldn't stand walking around the corner and thinking that he would be on the other side. This picture was my favorite. Even though I had never truly known my father, I missed him. He was tall, with light brown hair that hung in a lose pony-tail. He had pretty brown eyes that were looking right at the camera, those eyes that always looked like they were staring at me when I walked into the room. As good of a father as Roberto was, he would never truly be _my _father.

I pushed the door all the way open so that I wouldn't have to look at him anymore. I felt guilty for staring at Dad, for wishing that he was still here. I felt guilty because those brown eyes looked at me with some sort of bizarre accusation today, as though I'd done something wrong.

I sighed, turning away from the picture. It made me feel so sad when I looked at it, it made me miss the man I'd never known. I wandered around my room, mindlessly throwing random clothing into a tiny bag, praying that I would get out without Roberto noticing me at all.

"Jazz?" A soft voice asked at my door, which was hanging ajar. My mother stood in the doorway, her eyes sad and lonely, "I just found this," she walked across the room, handing me an envelope. The corners were frayed, and it obviously was old.

"God, how old is this, Mom?" I asked, turning it around in my hands curiously. On the front it said in a pretty script, '_To Jasmine, August 29__th__, 2008'_ There was no other marking on it, just the deep lines of the black pen.

"Thirteen years," she whispered, and I looked up at her, surprised at the horrified tone in her voice. She looked as though she'd aged several years in the last few seconds. "Open it, please…"

"It's from Dad." I stated slowly, and she nodded, "Okay…" I gulped, almost afraid of what I'd find. Some long last will, or maybe an explanation of his death, or or… I slid my fingernail under the sealed flap, pulling it open. A tiny, folded up slip of paper lay inside of it. The corner was torn in an oddly familiar pattern, one I felt like I'd just seen. My mother watched in anticipation as I clumsily pulled the folds apart. On it was written with the different, and rather ridiculous purple pen, but in the same handwriting: _Do it. I know you can._

"I don't understand," My mother whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't either. It feels like some kind of stupid fortune cookie," I grumbled. I felt horribly disappointed, but some suspicion had been planted in my mind. The purple pen was just too weird, as was the bizarrely familiar torn edge.

"Well, it looks like you're all packed to go," Mom commented dryly, staring at my knapsack on the bed.

"Yup," I began wandering over to my desk, an invisible prompting in my stomach told me that I'd find something there. My vision flickered out for a moment; a purple pen lying on a torn piece of paper hovered over my vision like a transparency from an overhead projector for a split second, and then shot back to my boring, mundane room. I shook my head, trying to get my bearings back.

"Are you planning on telling Roberto that you're going?" She grumbled, "Or are you just going to 'wait it out'?" The sarcasm in her voice was biting. She obviously hadn't noticed my almost black-out.

"Ummm I dunno, can I have a second Mom?" I asked, grasping onto my wooden dresser for support, "I don't feel good."

"Oh," she muttered quietly, "Yeah, I understand. I don't feel good either," I looked up at her, and noticed the red rings around her eyes, "Just go, just go and have a good time, I'll deal with Roberto later," she sighed.

"Thanks Mom, really, I mean it," I said sincerely, "You don't know how much this means to me," Pride for my mother and her understanding swelled in my chest.

She managed to shatter this a moment later, "But I swear to God Jasmine Marie Arianette Flores, if you have sex with _anyone _and get pregnant, I _will_ take you out of my will,"

"Thanks Mom," I groaned, making my way over towards my desk now that I'd regained my balance. I realized that the same scene that had played out in my head moments ago was now in front of me. I flipped the torn paper over to find a 2008 Marching Band Schedule, which I lined up exactly with the paper. A purple pen tumbled to the floor as I did so. Before I could wonder what this possibly meant, Roberto appeared at the door, with Dominique in tow. I groaned.

"Hello Jasmine," Dominique smiled, gazing around my room with his big green eyes, "Nice room," I blocked the way in with my body, unwilling to let him intrude upon the space that belonged to me, not him. He'd already intruded too much tonight.

"I didn't know that you knew Dommi," Roberto said innocently, glancing between the two of us. Dommi's smile told me that something had changed between this afternoon and right now, but it wasn't him that had caused it.

"Yeah… I met him tonight at the game," I admitted, "I'm sorry I didn't see you during third quarter… um, Holly was having this breakdown so I needed to ah, you know… have girly talk time,"

"Oh, that's alright. Your mother tells me there's somewhere you'd like to sleep over tonight?" Roberto gazed at my packed bag, which now hung limply in my hands.

"Oh, yeah, um, Brent's having this bonfire for all of my friends and stuff…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say. I wasn't very good at lying, especially to Roberto. He intimidated me.

"Go ahead, have a nice time."

"Really?" That was too easy, "Just like that?" I eyed him suspiciously, but held my bag a little tighter with a little more hope.

"Just like that. It's about time that you grew up a little, you know?" Roberto was staring at my closet door, at the photos hanging on it. The photos that documented my life, my growing up. I wondered why he'd chosen that place to look at. Maybe he was jealous of other people for getting my attention more than he did. Maybe not. I guessed I'd never know.

"Have a fun time, at your party. It's going to be wicked fun, I know it," Dominique's glance held my own for a second too long. He knew. About…_that word. _He winked at me, trying to ease over my tension, but it was too late, my heart had leapt into a rapid rhythm, much faster than normal.

"I… have to go," With that, I edged around them, sprinted down the stairs, and screamed, "Bye Mom!" before pushing through my front door and flying into my car. I unlocked it and climbed in. I quickly stuck the keys in the ignition, fiddling with it as my car grumbled unhappily. Something caught my peripheral vision, and I gasped, whirling around to face the empty passenger seat.

"God, you're going crazy Jazz," I muttered, "There's nothing there, it's empty see," I talked myself down until my heart rate slowed back to normal. Then I cranked the A/C and drove away.

Brent's house was a mere 10 minutes from my house, and I wasn't even speeding on the way there. I parked my car between Holly's and Eve's. The lawn was completely covered in colorful cars, all of which belonging to various band kids. I didn't even recognize them all. I cut my engine, turned off the headlights, and headed towards Brent's house.

"Hey, Jazz!" Amy called out from behind me, sounding surprised. I turned around to find her running towards me, her blond hair flowing out behind her. "I didn't know you were coming to this too!" The car that had dropped her off drove away. The darkness from the absence of headlights was eerie, so I began to walk towards the door to Brent's.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd be here either," I admitted, glancing into her blue eyes, which I could see turning a strange shade of violet as the red infiltrated her pretty eyes, as well.

"Yeah, Eve invited me, cool huh?" Amy sounded excited. Obviously Eve had failed to inform her that she'd be making a life or death decision tonight, which I envied.

"Yeah, awesome," I mumbled as we headed for the door, dragging our sleeping bags and our overnight bags. Brent's house was nice and surrounded by colorful flowers that were lit by cheap, but classy, garden lights. The front door opened and where I expected to see Brent or one of his parents, stood Sadie. She looked eerie in the dark, her curly blonde hair casting bizarre shadows over her face. Her green eyes were just as tortured and conflicted as Holly's had been earlier.

"Hey, Sadie… you okay?" Amy asked sweetly. Sadie just nodded, and gestured for us to come in. Josh ambushed us on the way in, grabbing our stuff from us and placing it in a pile of discarded bags and pillows. We followed Sadie past a comfortable living room filled with matching couches, past a huge bathroom, and through a door that lead to the outside. A circle of teenagers sat in the spacious back yard, illuminated by a huge bonfire that was lit before them. No one was talking, but I saw several tiny white things fly through the air, silhouetted by the fire. "Marshmallows?" Amy inquired as Sadie led us to two empty seats. A few peals of laughter echoed into the night as the marshmallows bounced like crazy in the grass.

She laughed, her pretty features loosening up for the first time today, "Yeah, the guys love to throw them at each other," she rolled her green eyes, and her hand shot up, lightning fast, only to return with a marshmallow, which she bit into, "But they can't fool me," She winked at me, then moved to sit next to Nick, who was hanging his head between his knees.

"He must be nauseous, it's no big deal," I assured Amy, who looked like she was going to explode with worry at the sight of his pain. She relaxed immediately.

"Mike's here too," Amy whispered, as though this were totally scandalous, "I wonder what's going on," I bit my lips, trying to think of something to say. I couldn't just tell her _Oh, don't worry, this is just some kind of vampire initiation, it'll be over soon._

So instead I said, "Meh, just some band-o bonfire, you know, happens at least once a year,"

"Yeah, but this is weird. Look, Willie and Bobby are here too," She gestured towards the farthest pair from anyone. Two boys sat in the grass, looking utterly uncomfortable and unwelcome. Bobby was a shy, dorky clarinet player who always turned down invitations to go anywhere, so it surprised me to see him here. Willie was a trumpet player who, quite frankly, looked like a pregnant man-elf. Even Amy couldn't deny their complete unpopularity.

"That is really bizarre," I admitted, shaking my head. If Brent had invited all of the juniors then… I quickly did the math in my head. There were 20 missing. Before I could wonder where they were, or what they could possibly be doing that was more important than their lives, Brent, Holly, and Daisy emerged from the forest. Daisy was a drummer, and I noted, the only one here. She was tiny, Asian and occasionally scared the living shit out of people with how wacky she could be. But, she was hilarious.

"Brent, you'd better hurry this up, I think Nick's gonna puke his guts out if you don't!" Josh yelled loudly from across the circle. He was sitting on the other side of Nick, Bridget sat on his right. She rolled her eyes.

"He's being dramatic, but I do feel bad leaving all the junior hanging like this," I noticed her big blue eyes flicker towards me, "C'mon?"

Brent climbed up on a stump next to the fire, and cleared his throat, nodding slightly at Bridget to show her that he understood, "Attention upperclassman," The circle fell completely silent, even Willie and Bobby, who had been whispering quietly to each other for the last few minutes, stopped talking. "Tonight, we share the secret we've kept for a year, and the secret that the graduating class kept from us. The secret that was once not ours to tell, but is now ours to share. We share the possibility with the juniors tonight. We offer immortality, coven-hood, and extensive abilities,"

During Brent's momentary pause in speaking, Amy whispered, "What is he talking about?" I just shook my head.

"Tonight, you must choose between life as a vampire," Amy's breath caught, and I glanced over at Mike who smiled wryly like this was the best thing that ever happened to him, and Nick who looked wonderfully thrilled, but skeptic and careful. Willie and Bobby looked at each other and rolled their eyes, "And death. It's your choice. You've each been assigned a 'sponsor' per say, who will help you through the process of making the change, shall you choose to do so. They'll help you from here," He hopped off of the stump, and headed over to Sadie, who smiled sadly, and allowed him to pick Nick up in his arms. He didn't seem to be able to get up without puking.

Holly and Eve headed towards Amy and me. Amy looked frozen in horror and confusion, so I sighed and place my arm around her, "It's okay Amy. They're not lying," She looked up at me, and cocked her head, "Holly told me earlier. I was really really sick because of this whole changing thing, and she helped me out,"

"Are you…?" Amy began, than cut off, glancing at Eve instead.

"No, but they are," I inhaled, "I don't want to lose you Amy. You're one of my best friends. Please don't die."

"Ditto," she said with a strained smile, hugging me. Eve and Holly reached us then, and looked at us with big, wide smiles. Each was holding two canteens. Holly's were green, Eve's were purple. Eve handed the purple ones to Amy as soon as she let go of me.

"C'mon Amy. We're up first," Eve said, grabbing her hand, "You won't be alone during this, I promise," Eve pulled Amy up, which was surprising considering the fact that Amy was much larger than Eve, who was extremely petite, but I supposed that was a vampire thing. The two of them headed away from the bonfire and the house, towards the forest.

"Aren't we going?" I asked Holly, who handed me the green canteens.

"Nope," she said with a smile, "Each person has to go on their own. There will be a few minutes where Amy will be completely by herself, as will you, because everyone needs to choose without influence. So I can't stand there and force you to change." She shrugged.

"What's in here?" I jiggled the canteens around. They made sloshy noises. I noted that Sadie held two blue ones in her hands as she leaned protectively over Nick. Daisy was handing two black ones to Mike. Willie and Bobby were both getting up, shaking their heads at Josh and Bridget, who did not look disappointed to see them leave.

"One's full of water," Holly answered, watching the two of them depart, "The other of my blood," she flipped her wrist and showed me an angry, puckered pink line. When I made a horrified face, she laughed, and added, "Don't worry, I heal fast," she then cocked her head to the side, as though someone was whispering in my ear. "Eve and Amy should be deep enough in that we can go now, follow me,"

Holly pulled me to my feet, just as Eve had done. We headed towards the forest next, but Mike grabbed my wrist at the last minute, "What are you going to do?" he whispered, glancing nervously at Daisy and Holly. I shrugged. "I hope I see you again," Mike added, giving me a hug, "Bye,"

"I know I'll see you again," I muttered, returning his hug awkwardly. Mike had obviously taken the "or die" warning quite seriously.

"Are you ready?" Holly asked, looking at me.

"I was born ready," I said confidentially.

Holly grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the forest, "You ain't seen nothin' yet girl,"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I was frustrated with myself at the end of this chapter haha. Writing as Jazz seems to make me irritable. I wanted to yell, "No Holly, I ain't seen nothin' yet!" haha, oh man. Chapter six is almost half written because my writer's block is dead now, so I'm gonna write like crazy. Mucho love.


	6. Ch 6: The Life and Death of Ms Flores

Normally, I do not post chapters this close together. But this one was completely finished the day I posted Chapter five, and I have to work for the next five days in a row, so I figured I'd give you a little something extra.

* * *

Ch. 6: The Life and Death of Ms. Flores

Holly and I continued into the forest, at first walking in silence through the trees, the only sound was the crunch of leaves and sticks beneath my feet. An ear-piercing scream broke the night and I jumped about five feet in the air. Holly laughed tightly, "Don't worry, it's just Amy. Sounds like she's chosen to be a vampire. Nifty huh?"

"How is _that_," I listened to another scream and shuddered, "nifty in any way shape or form?!" My heart was racing now, thudding painfully in my chest.

"Because the fact that she's screaming means that she's not dead!" Holly almost breathed a sigh of relief, "I hate when they die," She looked away from me with a sad expression.

"Is that how that saxophone player last year died?" I asked tentatively. I barely remembered her. I didn't know her name, just that she'd been dark-haired and slightly annoying, always talking about how Jesus loves you, and that anyone who wasn't a Christian was unholy. My best friend, the one standing before me, was Jewish, so I didn't believe that at all.

"Yeah," Holly was examining a tree with too much interest, "She thought that becoming a vampire would make her unholy. She told me so before we went into the forest. They used to do it in pairs you see, the class before us. Sadie was her partner. I felt awful, because Sadie started screaming at the top of her lungs that this girl was dead, while she was changing. Bridget and I were next in line," She finally turned back to me, "That's the reason we leave you alone when you choose, for real. Because none of us could handle if you uh… you know,"

"I know," I said looking up at her. Another shriek broke the night, but this time, it felt like a comfort. Amy wasn't going to die like the nameless saxophone player that I'd never known. She was going to walk back into the bonfire with a big smile on her face, hugging Eve and laughing with the others. I wouldn't have to attend her funeral. I decided quickly to change the subject, "So, what are we supposed to do out here?"

Holly lightened up almost immediately, "I'm supposed to show you vampire things and you're supposed to either be so scared that you choose death, or think it's cool and choose to be like me,"

"Well, why'd you pick to be like that?" I asked, hoping that this wasn't really a personal question.

"I'll tell you after you decide, because I don't want my reasons to make you choose either way, although I'd much rather that you didn't die," She smiled sheepishly. "Anyways, um, I guess I should show you what a vampire looks like,"

"I'm looking at one, aren't I?" I felt confused, until Holly closed her eyes with a slight chuckle.

Holly's body was no different than before, but when she re-opened her eyes, I thought that I might die of shock. Her eyes were a beautiful, but terrifying deep ruby red. Her pale skin almost seemed to glow with a supernatural allure under the moonlight and I was terrified. This creature was not Holly. It was a Hollypire.

"A vampire is a creature that isn't human, although we might look one," The Hollypire laughed and I caught a glimpse of two shiny and extremely large fangs in her mouth, "It's a part of the disguise really. It's also so that we can get close to our lunch. We drink human blood. Well, most vampires do. Since we're teenagers and we're afraid of letting people we love get hurt, i.e. you," she smiled sweetly at me, which looked completely wrong with her fangs extended, and her big ruby eyes examining me, ". We're not Twilight, so we don't drink animals that often, they taste awful, trust me. We're also not True Blood so we can't go around chugging blood like it's a beer. So we do with each other, animals which taste absolutely disgusting, as I mentioned before, and Brent's father provides us with human blood every now and then,"

I looked at Hollypire, contemplating whether or not I trusted it. Knowing what Holly was hadn't bothered me until now, when her dark side, the bloodthirsty, red-eyed, side was out to play and was now staring at me like I was lunch. Seeing it, this monster, made my heart beat faster.

Hollypire must have heard that my heart was pounding ridiculously and she quickly corrected herself, "Donated blood. He's a doctor, he can get these things. Geez, we don't feed on him that would be awful! Poor Dr. Sanderson… he thinks we're running a clinic for a sick tuba player," She sighed, remorse deep in her ruby eyes, "I feel bad about that. But we need to feed. We don't need to eat or drink, although we can and it still tastes good, but it's nothing, absolutely _nothing_ compared to blood," She sighed, but this sigh was different. It wasn't ridden with guilt, or sadness. It was filled with longing; it was a sigh that only the Hollypire would produce.

"So blood tastes good?" I asked timidly. I supposed that was a good thing, if I was going to be drinking it. The thought repulsed me almost immediately and I found it extremely hard to repress the shudder of disgust.

"Duh, I just said there's nothing better," The Hollypire rolled her red eyes, and I found Holly inside of this monster. She laughed, "You really can be dense sometimes,"

"It's one thing to know that you're a vampire, but you're freaking me out at the moment," I admitted, feeling the thud of my heart against my chest.

"Well, sorry, but if you're going to be a vampire, you'd better get used to looking at one," She laughed, "Letting your eyes and teeth change makes you feel less human, less vulnerable. It makes you feel more confident in yourself. But it also lets the dark parts come out. The darkness that being inhuman creates in you. That's the worst part about being a vampire. You have to leash in the vampire parts so that the human you can shine though without a problem."

"How do you make your eyes change colors like that?" I wondered. Maybe I could get my siblings to leave me alone while I was practicing if I could change my eyes. They never did. Although, I might give them a heart attack if they saw me like that.

"You let go of something that ties you to being human. For me, it's my parents. If I think bad things about them, then I change. But other than that, if you're extremely thirsty, like about-to-lose-control –and-attack-someone thirsty, or in horrible emotional distress, like being really sad or afraid, or even feeling threatened, you'll turn more vampire than human. It's almost like a defense mechanism, to push away the thing that you're threatened by," She shrugged, and despite the fact that her inhumanity was currently showing, she seemed more like Holly now than the disturbing Hollypire that I'd just seen, "Since you were feeling sick before, and your body already has enough vampire in it to start the change, your eyes started to turn red. But since you were still human, they retained enough hazel to neutralize it," She explained slowly, "We think that the way the first stage of the change, that is to say, what you're going through right now, is caused by the ingestion of vampire blood into your system. The second part of the change is caused when you chug that," she nodded towards what I was assuming the blood filled canteen, "and then your body bleeds out almost all of your human blood, it's nasty trust me, and slowly replaces it with a mixture of your blood and my blood until your body produces its own,"

"Ew," I groaned, feeling disgusted, "There was way too much usage of the word blood in there," I groaned, "And how exactly does my body 'bleed out'?" Several images flew through my vision, and I shuddered as my imagination ran wild.

"Kind of like when you cut yourself and the cuts don't seem to stop bleeding… and you'll probably puke a whole bunch too. That's the other reason the vampire doesn't stay with you, we wouldn't be able to resist feeding on you with all of that fresh blood in the air," Holly sighed, "But onto lighter topics then?"

"Yes, please, I am so tired of hearing about blood," I groaned, but Holly just laughed.

"I'll tell you more about it later; you'll have a better appreciation for it then." She shook her head, "But anyways, the best thing about being a vampire is the heightened senses. I can see every leaf in this forest despite the fact that I bet you can barely see the path you're walking on. I can hear your heart beating like a caged bird flutters. I can smell your delicious human scent, and I can smell your dog's scent on you too. I can almost taste the air when I open my mouth. It's great,"

"Really? I didn't even touch Shadow when I went home," I commented. Come to think of it, I hadn't even seen the dog. I chose to ignore the other part about my own scent.

"You sleep in the same room as her, so, her scent sticks," Holly shrugged, "The other really cool thing about being a vampire is that you don't have to sleep very often. You can do it for a whole night about once a week, or an hour or two every night. I do it while my parents are getting drunk," She sighed, this time with sadness, "I don't want to listen to them drunk fight,"

"I don't blame you," I said sympathetically, "My parents like each other," I shrugged.

She cleared her throat, "Anyways, um, there's also the speed," She winked and disappeared into the night, almost flying with the speed she was moving at. I glanced around to find her, only to find her teeth at my throat seconds later. I gasped, and she continued, "And the strength," Before picking me up like a rag doll, and leaping roughly forty feet into the air. The forest flew by in a blur of black and green as she landed completely silently on the ground. "Cool huh?"

I sat in her arms, completely shell-shocked until she lowered me to the ground. I looked up at Holly with fear and reverence, surprise and jealousy. "That was so. Fucking. Awesome!"

She laughed, "And that's just the tip of the abilities ice berg. All vampires, upon changing, have a 'talent' so to speak," Now Holly was practically bouncing up and down, "This talent is a supernatural power. For example, Brent can move things with his mind,"

"Telekinesis?" I inquired. I've watched my fair share of sci-fi and supernatural shows to know my "talents" as Holly decided to call them.

"Yes," She chuckled, "I didn't know if you'd know what that word meant. Well, the others want to show you their talents themselves, we're going to have a talent show after you guys decide, and then we'll help you discover your talents. You might have had some flicker of it already, since you've already got a little blood in your system," She eyed me thoughtfully.

"Yeah I think I have…" I thought of the weird flashes that I'd seen of the purple pen and the weird feeling in my stomach that made me feel like I simply knew things.

"Well, once you make—er, if you make the change, I can help you figure out what it was. Was it a mental thing?" I shot her a confused look, "Okay, um, was it in your mind? Like, could anyone else see what was happening?"

"I think it was in my brain. My mom couldn't tell what happened, she just thought that I was upset about something," Then other parts of what she'd said caught up to me, "What do you mean you can help me?"

"My talent is that I can heal people. Flesh wounds kind of thing. But beyond that, I have another talent. Each coven, yes we are a coven, has a 'Coven telepath'. I can read the minds of everyone in the coven. It gets tiresome eventually. Normally I just ignore it, but if you kind of think my name really forcefully, then I'll pay attention. You'll have to try it sometime," Holly explained nonchalantly, although I could tell that she was particularly thrilled with her honor.

We'd reached a small clearing now, and I could see the moonlight filtering in through the trees. It was a pretty glade, but there was something weird about it, something bizarre. Before I could ask Holly about it, Brent dropped out of a tree with the same silent landing that Holly had before. I jumped about five feet backwards, stumbled, and managed to land with a really loud thud on my butt.

Holly laughed, but Brent looked utterly serious as he stared down at me, "Are you ready Jazz?" Holly's laugh tinkled off. Brent was standing in front of me, his pale skin emitting the same bizarre almost glow from the moon. It was both alluring and terrifying, just as Holly's was. He made eye contact with me, and I saw in the dim light that his eyes were red also, but a different shade than Holly's. Where Holly's were a deep, sparkly ruby red, his were a bright, vital crimson. He must have heard my heart pound harder, so he smiled, his fangs showing.

"I was born ready," I laughed, and he pulled me to my feet, "I just have one more question," Holly shrugged as Brent cocked his head to the side, "What about sunlight? Does it like, hurt you or make you sparkle?"

"Sparkle?!" Holly scoffed, "If it made me sparkle, how would I have made it through band camp this year?" She started laughing ridiculously.

"Probably because it rained almost every day. We played rain ultimate Frisbee, remember?" Brent corrected her before turning to me, "We don't sparkle in the sunlight, or burn up or anything. We just sunburn much more easily than anyone else, because we're so fair skinned. Also, you can't get a suntan. Sorry,"

"That's alright, I usually don't tan anyways," I giggled nervously, attempting to pull my face into a smile. The severity of what I was about to do was hitting me hard in my already pain ridden stomach. It twisted my guts around in a ridiculous parody of those horrible moments when you realize something about yourself or someone else. It was akin to that horrible nervous feeling before you walk into a room full of judges you've never met before to play random scales for them. I gulped.

"It's okay to be nervous," Holly said, wrapping me in a tight hug, "Whatever you pick, make sure you do it for the right reasons. Make sure that you're happy with what you choose. Just remember that we love you, and we're here for you, okay sweetie?" She pulled away from me, and she looked at me, and it was no longer the Hollypire looking at me, but my old friend again. The ruby in her eyes had receded, leaving behind that sweet chocolate brown, and her sad smile was wonderfully fang free. I hugged her back, letting a few nervous tears slide down my face.

"You'll be continuing without Holly for now," Brent nodded to her, and she waved to me before turning and whirling into the night, her feet flying silently with deadly speed, "Now, you travel with me for a few moments, before I leave you to make your decision." Brent reached out his icy hand, and I took it, feeling the sweat on my palms slip against his cool, smooth skin.

"Oh, I forgot to ask," I realized, "Why are you cold?" He wasn't full of warmth, or sweat like I was. Just coolness.

"Well, we're not exactly alive…" Brent muttered, more to himself than me, "We're not sure about that. Our hearts still beat and pump blood around our bodies, but it seems like it's gone cold or something. We're not really sure. It's probably some kind of environmental thing. Like, it gets really cold here in the winter, and vampires spend a lot of time outside so… I have no idea," he admitted in the end, lowering his gaze.

"That's okay," I said sweetly, "I was only wondering,"

He smiled back at me, "You seem so calm. Most people cry or scream or beg for some other choice."

"I am crying," I informed him, gesturing up to the tear tracks on my face. I was sure that he could see the glittering tears in the moonlight.

"But you're not freaking out. You're almost completely calm, I can tell, your heart rate isn't _that_ far up," He looked so perplexed that it was cute. But, he was dating Eve, so I reminded myself that this vampire hunk was off the dating scene.

"I don't know why I haven't freaked out," I admitted slowly, and he stopped before entering the clearing, and we both stood there for a moment, silhouetted by moonlight, "I think maybe, I know that no matter what happens, you guys are my best friends, and no matter how creepy or monstrous you may look, no offense," I paused to make sure that Brent wasn't offended.

"None taken," He chuckled, "The fangs and eyes can get kind of creepy,"

I nodded, "I know that you'll always be there for me and help me through whatever I may need help with," I paused, realizing that we'd stopped, "Why did we stop?"

"Because there's a force-field around this clearing," Brent informed me, "You and any other mortal can pass through it unharmed on this side, but I _think_ that it would hurt me a lot," He smiled brightly, "It's mostly to keep in the scent of fresh blood. Bridget set it up. It's her talent. Holly explained those to you, right?" I nodded, and as I glared at the pathway between us and the clearing, I swear I saw it shimmer a bit, "Mortals can't see the field, so they can pass through it rather easily. Bridget can control the intensity; fix it up so that no one can get through if she wants. Usually it's hard to see but it appears to me like someone's placed a purple piece of ceran-wrap over this clearing. You can't see it, right?" I shook my head.

"Good," He gestured to the two canteens looped around my arms, "When you go into the clearing, you won't know which canteen is which. You'll feel a pull towards one, and I beg of you not to have any second thoughts because that's how people make the wrong decision. Drink the one that you grab first as quickly as you can. I'll know what you've chosen, because you'll either remain there to die a slow, but painless death, or you'll walk out of the other side of that clearing with red eyes and fangs. It's your choice; don't let anyone or anything else change that,"

"Thanks," I mumbled, and the pain in my throat was becoming much more acute. My head throbbed, and I sweated like a pig. My stomach was twisted into horrible knots, but I turned to face the shimmering pathway with bravery and confidence. It was my choice and I would make the right one for me. I would not allow my mother to lose another family member. Wasn't a bizarrely altered daughter better than a dead one?

"I'm leaving you now. I won't be back to the bonfire because I have to meet Nick next. He's looking a lot like you did earlier, so we wanted to hurry him along. He may have to see the tail-end of your change, but by that point, you probably won't be worrying about him," Brent turned around to leave, but ducked back at the last moment and hugged me tight. His cool body felt wonderful against mine, and it cooled some of the feverish fire that burned in my sick veins. "Good luck," He turned and disappeared into the night, just as Holly had, running with a speed that I'd never thought imaginable.

I braced myself for the worst, and walked through the barrier that I couldn't see. It turns out that I could feel it though. As I walked through it, I felt an odd squishing sensation, as though the barrier was testing me for my mortality. The strange jelly-like substance seemed to decide that I was mortal enough for it and let me pass.

The clearing was uneventful. It was dimly lit, but brighter than the forest, so it took my eyes a moment to adjust. Between the trees was what looked like a warzone. Blood spatters lay in one corner, next to an empty canteen. An empty purple canteen. "Amy," I whispered, looking at that corner. I chose the opposite corner and sat down, placing the lime green canteens in front of me, staring at them. I couldn't tell the difference, but I didn't feel an "elusive pull" towards either of them.

"What the hell?" I muttered, poking one canteen with my foot. As I did so, the canteen lifted from the ground, hovering about five feet above it, suspended by the black strap. The other followed suit and they began to spin, around and around, the canteens clanking together as they whirled like a helicopter. Finally at the end, they flew apart, one of them landing by where I'd entered and the other catching in a tree closer to where I sat now.

I blinked for a moment, wondering if that was all a part of my imagination or if I was going to wake up now. But the fatigue and pain that I felt was pressing and real so I knew that I wasn't asleep. The canteen in the tree dangled as it swung back and forth slowly, and I watched it, mesmerized. That had to be it. The one that I was supposed to drink. Suddenly, I was ridiculously and immeasurably thirsty. And this canteen promised to quench it. I jogged towards the canteen, not stopping to think. Brent had told me not to think about it, not to second-guess myself. And I wouldn't. I couldn't even remember where the other canteen had fallen.

I reached the canteen, panting a bit. The air wheezing through my throat made it burn even more, and the canteen dangled there, promising to relieve me. I climbed into the tree, grabbing at the canteen with all of my might. It tumbled to the ground, bouncing a bit, but it didn't open. I jumped down from the tree, not caring that my legs ached and that I'd landed on my ankle wrong. I needed this. I needed to drink it. I unscrewed the cap, and was met with a bizarre scent that I didn't recognize, but I was past caring.

I lifted the canteen to my lips and tilted my head back, drinking wildly. At first, the liquid was utterly tasteless, and a small part of my mind wondered if I'd picked the water, and was going to die. But soon, the taste blossomed, becoming a cool, soothing taste, one of the best things I'd ever tasted. And then it hit me. I was drinking Holly's blood. The same, tiny part of my mind wondered what the hell I was doing, but I was driven by some strange, unknown instinct. It made me keep drinking, and it made me sad when the canteen was empty. I licked my lips with a happy, contented sigh as cheery warmth blossomed in my stomach, where the liquid was now digesting.

But soon, the cheery warmth morphed into a gut-wrenching pain, and I felt a scream leave my throat. I didn't hear it echoing through the forest like I'd heard Amy's; I was too far gone for that. My stomach was wrenching, ripping itself apart. I gasped for air, falling to my knees. They scraped against the ground, tearing my skin like paper. And they bled, they bled like crazy. I fell onto my butt in pain and fear, my eyes locking onto my cut knees, where blood was blossoming, more than there should have been. It flowed freely, like water from a faucet. I gulped, the nausea in my stomach increasing with every breath. Then it wrenched, harder than before, and I puked a slick, red liquid onto the forest ground and over my shorts.

I rolled myself over, so that I could easily push myself up onto my hands and knees. It was perfect, because my gut wrenched again, and I felt the liquid push up my throat and onto the ground. The bloody grass swam before my eyes as pain shot through my head, and I let out another scream, and this time I could hear it echoing far throughout the forest. I squeezed my eyes shut, enjoying the utter darkness. I was panting, my hands sweating in the grass, my knees bleeding all over the ground.

The pain was receding very slowly from my head, but it spread over the rest of my body. It was pain, pain so bad that it was nauseating. I heaved again, and I had the most peculiar feeling near my heart. It felt like someone was vacuuming my blood from my veins, and I knew that I was being drained. It should be almost over, shouldn't it? I could feel it now. The pain ripped through my muscles, which expanded, pushing against my skin in painful places, only to recede back to normal after a few moments of awful gut-wrenching pain.

The pain receded momentarily, and I felt most of my body go slack, but then it attacked my throat and mouth. My throat felt as though someone had lit it on fire and my mouth, oh dear Lord, my mouth! It felt as though someone was injecting me with Novocain, drilling my teeth, and pulling them out all at the same time. I felt the gums around my canines loosening and tightening until suddenly each of them jutted out with spears of pain. I shrieked again, one last time, before my body fell limp into the puddle of blood beneath me.

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**Author's Note:** And so finally, we get to meet vampire Jasmine. I hope you're looking forward to it. It's going to be a lot of fun writing as her, so I hope you'll enjoy reading her. Not that human Jazz wasn't fun haha. It will be a rather long time before Chapter seven though, due to work, ick. So, ENJOY AND REVIEW!


	7. Ch 7: Visions

Yeah I've been gone for a while. It's been a rough three or four weeks... band camp, school, fighting, all my friends leaving. Everything's mostly settled back in now, so I've been writing this little chapter for about a week or so during study hall. Enjoy.

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Ch. 7: Visions

The pain was gone. My body felt limp and strange, almost as though I was momentarily disconnected from my life. I wondered for a moment if I was dead, but I could feel my heart slowly pumping the remainder of my blood through my veins. I inhaled slowly, and smelled the blood against the ground, and it smelled delicious. It smelled like nothing I'd ever craved before. It smelled like seductive chocolate and strawberries. But I knew that I had to get up. I knew that I had to get out of here, and make myself smell something other than Amy and my blood. Amy's blood smelled less attractive than the warm puddle of blood below me, but still delicious.

I attempted to slowly push myself up. Instead, my body immediately sprang up, and I felt myself fly about twenty feet in the air before landing silently on my feet without even looking. The blood smelled slightly farther away now then it did then. I decided to smell myself, to see if I still smelled that good. But I didn't smell like chocolate or strawberries. A wonderful after-rain scent wafted off of my skin and I was perfectly happy with this new scent that was one hundred percent me. And then I realized that my eyes were still shut in terror of the pain returning, but I felt like I knew it was gone.

I gradually pushed my eyes open, and was immediately disappointed at what I saw. Everything looked bizarre and blurry. I sighed sadly; I must be the only vampire with seeing problems. But then I realized that I was still wearing my contact lenses and I reached up, being sure to make my actions slower, and pulled them both out, dropping them against the forest floor where they sank into the blood puddle. Immediately the world cleared up, and I could see everything around me. The darkness wasn't a problem, I could see like a cat, the world was just as clear as though it was daytime.

I inhaled, and I smelled two new scents approaching. One was seductive and dark, just like the blood had been, and I knew instinctively that it must be human. The other was friendly and like pine-needles. I heard one pair of feet crunching against the branches, and I knew this must be the human. A vampire couldn't be so clumsy, and I heard the whooshing, almost silent footsteps of this vampire. I turned, to try and see them, but instead I saw a big, transparent purple layer of who knew what. It was what I'd interpreted as shimmering before, now in front of me as a solid barrier, preventing me from going that way.

I knew I should go the other way. So I turned around and tried to walk slowly, but my body took off like a rocket. The forest at night was surprisingly easy to navigate, and a tiny remainder of the elusive pull from before pulled me towards where I was going. I could see a sliver of orange light in far front of me, and a strange image of the bonfire blasted across my vision, stopping me dead in my tracks. I wondered where this bizarre image had come from and I remembered the moment in my bedroom, and then Holly's promise to help me figure this out, so I continued to run towards the pull. I burst out of the trees and laughed at the bizarre adrenaline like feeling I felt now. I spun around in complete exhilaration, so I was facing the forest once more.

"Jazz?" I heard Holly ask from the edge of the bonfire, and I turned around to face Holly. I could see her more clearly now. I could see the auburn streaks in her hair; count the freckles on her face. I could finally tell exactly what shade of white her skin was, and the ruby eyes that examined me with caution didn't look as horrifying as they did natural now.

"Holly! I just ran through the forest, it was amazing, oh my gosh!" I laughed in a single burst, and ran towards her with my new speed, "What?" I asked when I caught a glimpse of the peculiar look on her face. Her eyes seemed to widen as they took in my clothing, and I realized that the seductive smell had traveled with me. It hit me like a wall, and for a moment, I felt as though I'd been hit by a truck. A truck of sweet delicious nothing ness that made me forget who I was.

Before I knew it, another white shape was flying through the air, and tackled Holly. Holly fell to the ground with an angry snarl, and attempted to push off whoever was on top of her. I tried to get my head clear enough to look at the tackler, but I was too fixated with what covered my shirt. It was a deep red color, and it smelled so good. My previous disgust at blood didn't seem to apply anymore as I raised my shirt to lick the juicy goodness.

"No, Jazz, stop!" The angry tackler yelled, and I noticed that Holly was running the other way now. I glanced at the angry tackler, only seeing a vampire that wanted my food. A strange hissing noise emitted from my throat as I backed away instinctively, watching the cherry eyes of the other vampire warily. "Jazz," The vampire called me a genre of music again, and I couldn't help wondering why she'd call me that. It was so stupid. "Please, don't do it, I can't restrain you if you go wild here," The cherry-eyed one informed me. When I continued glaring at her, she instructed grumpily," Stop breathing,"

I let my shirt drop back onto my body and inhaled the delicious scent one last time before letting my air catch in my chest. Once the air was in my chest, it no longer carried that seductive scent on it anymore, and I felt myself coming back to my senses.

"Shit," I breathed, letting out some of the once-delicious air.

"Language," The cherry-eyed vampire said, and I realized who it was. Her brown curls fell to her shoulders, although now I could see the blonde tint in it. Where her baby blues usually were sat a happy red color, the exact color of cherries. She was roughly two inches shorter than me, and staring up at me with an inquisitive look, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, ummm do you guys know where my overnight bag is?" I asked with the remainder of my air before gesturing to my bloody outfit. Eve nodded cheerfully, grabbing my hand and leading me away. I risked taking another breath, and the scent stabbed my like a knife to the throat, but I ignored it. "So, um, why didn't you go all psycho like Holly did?"

A slight pink color rushed over Eve's pale cheeks, and she mumbled, "Because Brent and I were making out earlier, and we ended up ummm ya know," She blushed again, this time even darker, "I usually don't try to feed from him, but sometimes…" She pushed the door open, and held it open for me. I noticed that sometime during our walk, her eyes had faded back to an icy blue, and her mouth was fang-free.

"You just can't control it?" I had felt the iron hold that blood held over me, that it made me forget who I was.

"Exactly," she blushed, "Here's your stuff. Ummm throw the bloody clothes in the washing machine; I'll take care of it at some point. Brent's parents are at a doctor's conference in Canada," She explained, tossing me my overnight bag and leaving me alone in what appeared to be a bathroom. I quickly threw off the bloody clothes. Without my sense of smell, the clothes repulsed me beyond reason. I checked to make sure that my bra wasn't soaked in blood, thankfully it wasn't, and chucked on the shirt I'd been planning to wear tomorrow. It was drenched in my old, human scent, the one I couldn't really smell that well. I hoped that the new, fresh rain scent would stick to these clothes. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. I changed my shorts as well, and was about to leave, when I caught a glimpse of a mirror from the corner of my eye and decided to check it out.

The me in the mirror stared back at me, looking confused. Her pretty scarlet eyes stared back at me warily. The color made them pop against her newly pale and probably icy skin that practically glowed underneath the fluorescent lights in Brent's bathroom. Her dishwater blonde hair fell against my chin with a healthier glow to it, and I could almost see the different shades of blonde and brunette at play in her hair. She opened her mouth in a sort of gape and I could see two shiny white fangs in the mix with her other perfectly straight white teeth. She was monstrous. She was beautiful. She was me. "Whoa," both she and I said at the same time, and I chuckled, still not believing that she was me.

I wandered back through the bathroom and locked the bloody clothes in the washing machine on the way back outside. I headed, now able to focus on moving more slowly, more normally, back to the bonfire.

"Jazz!" Amy's tinkly voice greeted me with pleasure, and she flew at inhuman speed up to me and threw her arms around me in a tight bear hug, "I heard you screaming and it was so awful and I thought you died, but you're here!"

"Squeezing… death… grip…" I choked out, and Amy released me. We both took a good look at each other at the same time. Amy's hair fell down with a new, healthier sheen. It fell around her beautiful fire-truck red eyes and down to her gaping mouth where the fangs hung. I inhaled her new scent, the one of fresh baked cookies, and I liked it.

"You look…" she started, not knowing what to say.

"Weird?" I suggested, punching her playfully in the arm. I watched her mouth 'ow', and rub the spot, "Ooh, sorry. I don't know my own strength,"

Amy laughed, "Me neither," We chuckled awkwardly a bit before a new noise, more like an awareness than a noise, was picked up by my instincts. I turned to face the two vampires now headed towards us. Amy followed suit, watching them also. Their footsteps barely made any noise at all as they headed towards us, and I felt the same supernatural pull towards them that I'd felt towards the canteen and the bonfire. Nick was walking with his arm drooped over Sadie's body, and he didn't seem well. This made me wonder why he was acting so strange. I could no longer smell any seductive human scent clinging to him, and I could smell Sadie's pretty fresh-cut grass scent wafting towards us.

"Sadie? What's wrong with Nick?" Eve asked, running up at human speed towards Amy and me. Now I could fully inhale her scent without being hindered by the blood. Eve's scent smelled like a mix of something floral and vanilla. Sadie waved Eve over, and she zipped towards them like a bullet.

"That still throws me off," Amy muttered, watching Eve catch Nick's other arm only a second after she'd left us standing so far away from them.

"Yeah, I know," I agreed, but I let my eyes stay locked on Nick. He was perfectly pallid, more so than the rest of us, although that was probably because he'd always been the palest of the people I knew. His eyes were a deep, beautiful burgandy. They were half-lidded, and almost hidden underneath his shaggy brown hair. His head hung down, like he still felt sick.

"Can vampires get sick?" Amy asked me, her eyes completely focused on Nick with worry and pain. I shrugged, and she said, "We should help,"

"We'd probably snap his arms off by accident Amy," I sighed, "I swear, I move like lightning now, and I don't even try at all,"

She laughed, "Yeah, I know, but still, let's find out what's going on. I'll race you." She winked before taking off towards them. I felt the speed and strength flowing through my muscles like crazy. They were wound up, ready to spring. I released the energy, and felt my body take off, faster than I'd ever driven in my car. Every pump of my legs was faster, cleaner, and stronger. I passed Amy easily, and spun around on the spot when I almost ran into Eve. That landed me on my butt.

Eve laughed, and extended her Nick-free hand to pull me up, "Nice," Amy dashed over about half a second later, stopping much more gracefully than I had. "You have to slow down before you stop silly," Eve corrected me with a chuckle, before turning back to Nick, "So what happened?"

"He went through the change, just like normal," Sadie said, shaking her head with worry, "He barely screamed at all, but I think that's just because he was trying to be manly," Now she rolled her emerald eyes, and I heard Nick snort under his breath, "He's semi-conscious, as you can tell by his oh-so-lovely sounds," Another snort, "I think that he didn't get enough blood in him before he changed, so he's just thirsty is all,"

Now that Sadie had mentioned thirst, I did notice a dull burning in my throat. It ached as though I hadn't had enough to drink in the last few hours. Amy grabbed at her throat, obviously she was thirsty too. Holly darted over about a second later, her auburn hair floating behind her. She landed perfectly next to me, staring at me with big, brown eyes. "Who?" She asked simply, gazing at Sadie, as though she were answering a question that Sadie had just asked.

"I don't know… I would say me, but," Sadie bit her lip, shaking her head, "It didn't happen. I know you expected that it would," Holly gasped and made an innocent face, "I have super-hearing too, you know talking to Bridget in the bathroom doesn't really cover much anymore," Sadie rolled her eyes, "But anyways, I don't know what you think…"

"We should let one've these two do it," Eve nodded towards us, "They're probably thirsty too, and you know that when one vampire starts drinking from another, the other follows suit," I remembered what she'd said earlier about accidentally drinking from Brent.

"I am pretty thirsty…" Amy shuffled awkwardly, looking down at the ground. I shrugged and nodded.

"Jazz, can you hold this a second?" Sadie grumbled as Nick slumped farther onto her, "I want to talk to Holly, but it's kind of challenging with him lying on me," I walked towards her as she began to shuffle Nick off of her shoulder, and I moved into her place. She dropped Nick's arm on me, and it was like an electric shock ran through my entire body. When he touched me, it made me feel different. Not like a confused vampire girl. It made me feel like a woman. I recoiled almost instantly from this feeling, ducking under Nick's arm, and backing away, eyes wide and staring. Nick fell on his butt, and he was staring at me, also confused. Eve glanced at Holly, who just nodded.

My breathing was much too fast and I quickly averted my eyes to the grass, but it was no use. It was almost as though Nick's startled face had been burnt into my vision, and a million new images of him flew across my eyes. I squeezed them shut, sinking to the ground under their weight. My entire body was tensing painfully as the visions grew clearer, more distinct. And then it hit me.

"_You can't like her. You can't!" a man's voice was shrieking into my ear drums and I found myself standing across from him. He looked a few inches shorter than usual, staring up at me with big, angry red eyes. Some part of me wanted to back away, but I felt better standing my ground._

"_I do," I said in a voice that wasn't mine, a voice that I recognized, but I couldn't quite identify, "And you can't do shit about it Ed," Ed growled, bunching up his muscles to pounce._

_The scene faded. Now the boy and a female vampire were standing in the forest, their skin pale and illuminated by the moonlight. She had flowing dishwater blonde hair, and pretty hazel eyes. She was me? I watched this scene like a ghost, not locked into either of our bodies. He was leaning towards the girl in the vision, facing away from me. Her eyes were closed as he leaned down and drank from her wrist, and she followed suit momentarily. Finally, they broke apart, panting heavily. Her fangs sparkled red with blood as she opened her mouth to say, "Oh what the hell?"_

_He muttered "Wha-?" before she jumped him and started kissing him. Hard. He leaned into the kiss, as did she, but her lean was a little too hard, setting them off balance. They toppled to the forest floor, giggling and laughing ridiculously._

"Jazz?" Holly's voice inquired as the other scene faded to black. I kept my eyes squeezed tightly, not sure if another image would pound against me. But my eyelids remained black. "Jazz, what was that?"

"I-I don't know," I gulped, "I just saw, um, an um…" I inhaled, pounded by scents of cookies, of berries, of freshly-cut-grass, of vanilla, an almost-Christmas-like scent that I assumed was Holly's, but one scent overwhelmed more than the other's. His. It was a smell so wonderful, so honey-like that it clouded my head. I jerked away from it, landing feet away from the rest of the group.

"Jazz, calm down," Holly sighed, heading towards me slowly, "I saw it too, I was trying to watch your thoughts," she said this slowly, almost as a question, as though waiting for my approval. I nodded, biting my lip to keep the tears in my eyes from spilling out. "Shh," She approached me, and she wrapped her arms around me. I flinched away from the contact, trying to escape the flood of visions I felt pushing against my eyelids.

Instead of completely stopping them, flashes of Holly running through a dark forest pushed at my consciousness. Something was chasing her, but I fought at the images.

"No, I want to see that one," she whispered, "stop pushing it," I felt my control on it slipping away anyways, and so I succumbed.

"_No! Stop! Don't make me!" Holly shrieked, her voice echoing through the forest as a tall, angry vampire marched behind her, maneuvering his fingers like a marionette, "I can't, you can't make me!" She gulped, falling to her knees as he pushed her down with the invisible strings he seemed to hold._

"_I can make you do whatever I want,"_

"Who was that?" Holly asked me as I lay on the ground, gasping helplessly for air. The visions hurt me.

"I… dunno… I can't… breathe," I whispered. My head was throbbing, my head was exploding. My eyes felt hot as they attempted to produce tears, tears that wouldn't come in this new body. This new body was empty.

"Nick, get over here," Holly instructed, and Sadie helped him over towards me. His eyes were still wide and even though I hadn't looked up, I could feel them on me. I could almost taste his fear on my dry tongue, all the way through to my burning throat and throbbing head. I smelled honey as he approached, and the Christmas scent. I looked up to find his shocking burgundy eyes locked on mine again, and we both winced away at the same time.

"Do it," Holly instructed coldly, and a quick flash of me gulping out of Nick's wrist with bloody fangs and angry eyes blew across my vision. I shook it out of my head, trying to focus on her instead, shaking my head futilely.

"No, make it stop Holly!" I groaned, my fangs piercing into my lip as I attempted to bite it. Blood was flowing out of it; the fresh rain scent grew stronger as I bled. Holly leaned away and released the hold on Nick's wrist that I hadn't realized that she had, as he leapt forward.

His tackle pushed me over onto the ground with brute force and strength. My mind filled almost immediately with visions of drinking blood, of passion, of kissing, but they were erased the moment he impulsively leaned towards the blood on my lip and kissed me. His fangs ripped the skin on my lips as the kiss deepened, and he licked the liquid from my lips. My fangs found his tongue and pierced into it easily, releasing his sweet blood into my mouth. It tasted like warmth, like passion. It tasted like home.

I swore in the background of all of this, through all the fuzz in my head, through the passion of his bloody kiss, that I heard Sadie's voice. "I never would have thought that he would go for her…"

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**Author's Note:** Yeah, not the best I've ever written and it's a bit of a filler, but I wanted to get back on the writing lines. Soooo tell me what ch'ya thiiink?


	8. Ch 8: Click

Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to get this one up. I had walking pneumonia, not fun! But here's chapter 8!

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Ch. 8: Click

The fire almost burned harder as our extended fangs clanked against each other, trying to find new ways to draw blood. The blood slid down my throat, caressing with bursts of flavor and heat. I'd always thought that it was cheesy in vampire novels where they described blood as the most delicious thing in the world, but I honestly couldn't think of another way to put it. It was full of heat and passion, it was so tasty and warm that I couldn't stop. It was addicting.

"Center yourself Jazz!" Holly was screeching ridiculously in the background, trying to push through the empty white noise in my brain as my body pushed harder into Nick's kiss, into his blood. Holly's voice was nothing compared to the amazing sensory experience I felt right now, deep down in my girl parts.

"Enough!" Brent's commanding voice yelled, and an invisible force ripped Nick and I apart, dragging me through the dirt by my shirt collar. I dug my heels into the dirt, trying to force my body to stop pulling. Holly's arms were immediately around me as I pushed and struggled against her grip, my throat burning with the sudden deprivation of warm liquid. Nick was struggling against Sadie across from me. The burgundy in his eyes seemed almost brighter as he stared at me hungrily, and the wildness in his eyes made my throat ache with pain and my body quake with lust.

"Ick too much info," Holly pulled her arms tighter against my stomach, "Your brain is a disgusting place Jasmine," I felt an angry vibration building in the back of my throat, "Inappropriate," Holly muttered, "Stop that," I realized that I was producing a growling sound, so I choked it down my throat as the burning began to fade, "Now, breathe," I inhaled, the sharp scents of my coven swirling around my head, each easily recognizable except for one that smelled more like the piney forest than the forest itself, which I assumed must be Brent. I exhaled all of those scents out, not bothering to even think about the one that was missing… the one that still I could still taste coating my mouth and my lips.

"If I let you go, are you gonna jump me and rip my throat out?" Holly inquired casually, as though discussing the weather instead of her possible death. I pondered that for a moment, and to my surprise, when I thought about what I'd do when she let go, a vision unfolded smoothly across the scene in front of me. I saw myself _not_ biting into Holly's neck like I thought I would, instead I was casually chatting with her in the forest.

"I'll take that as a no," Holly chuckled, releasing my chest from her grip. I almost fell over in the absence of the force of her grip, "Your visions are surprisingly clear…" she muttered inattentively, "I'll have to check into that one." I shot her a pondering look and she laughed, her chuckle echoing across the quiet meadow "Trust me, you'll need that someday. An active talent is worth a million of my lame mind-reading," I just rolled my eyes, and they seemed to automatically snap to Nick's. His were calming as Sadie muttered quiet, soothing words to him, but they were still that deep, burning burgundy. They pierced my soul with their intensity, their sudden interest in me, and I quickly focused on the clarity of the grass below me.

"Holly, how do I make my eyes and fangs and stuff go away?" She ignored me, so I simply watched her moving with a smooth grace towards Nick and Sadie, probably to heal the tongue that I'd torn through with my fangs, "Holly…" I zipped with uncontrollable speed towards her, and she caught me easily by slamming a single pale hand against my chest, "Thanks," She then moved her hand up to my lip, which felt slightly puffy and inflamed. I could still taste the cracked blood on it. It tasted like a mixture between the cleanest, purest water, and the warmest, most delicious honey.

"Hold still a second," Holly instructed briefly before placing her hand over my mouth. Immediately the cool skin of her hand warmed against my lips, reminding me briefly of hot chocolate at the winter football games. It tasted completely awful, but the heat of the liquid was worth it. My lip felt much better almost immediately.

However, the second she went to pull her hand from her lip, I felt it clip against my still-extended right fang. Her Christmas-scented blood began to slide from her hand, and she lifted it towards her own mouth, where her fangs had extended, to suck the blood down and possibly heal it with the same warm aura that had healed my lips.

My blood-lust was under control, but apparently Nick's wasn't. His eyes went wild again, and he leapt across the field towards Holly in almost a single bound. She dodged him easily, reading his intentions in his mind before he'd attacked, and his angry swing struck me in the face instead. I heard a quick snap in my cheek as I fell to the ground, gasping at the livid vampire with confusion. He moved towards me, red eyes crazed with hunger and lust and I felt myself blanch as I scrambled uselessly against the ground, tugging against the wet grass to get away.

He leaned in, fangs ready to nip through my pale skin when suddenly he was lifted into the air by his ankle. He snarled angrily, struggling against the invisible grasp as his body flipped upside down. His fangs snapped into empty air, but no fix for his situation was found. My eyes wheeled around, searching instinctively for a reason, and they found Brent. The tall blonde vampire stood a few feet behind Nick, his arm extended as he held him in a telekinetic grasp. Brent, obviously thinking that he'd won this scenario, began to head towards Nick to calm him, his footsteps silent against the slippery grass.

My breath caught in my throat when, in my mind, I saw Nick shuddering, shaking, as he turned into some sort of brown bird of pray and sliced Brent's throat open. The large vampire folded in upon himself, his blood seeping out and his eyes blank. I shook my head, finding myself back in the present. Nick was just beginning to shudder in mid-air and I saw Brent's confusion. I didn't think, instead, I trusted my instincts. I almost felt it, the tiny click inside of my head. For a split second, I caught Holly's eye, and she smiled, nodding, despite the fact that she was still lying in the wet grass. A feral snarl ripped through my throat in Nick's general direction before I flipped off of the grass, my feet pushing powerfully against the ground.

I flew over Nick's dangling form as feathers burst from his limbs, and his feet slid into angry, sharp talons. Brent's blue eyes widened in confusion when I slammed into him with all my strength, breaking his telekinetic grip. Our limbs tangled together as we tumbled down, and the glistening talons shot through the air just above us. Brent lay in the grass, but he pushed me off of him with ease, and I sprang lithely to my feet next to him. He glanced over at me briefly, nodding his thanks before he opened his mouth and extended his fangs. The bird of prey hovered over us. It had dark brown feathers, with big, red eyes set just above its beak. It crowed at us angrily. My stomach twinged, and I felt an impossibly strong urge to dive to my left. I followed my instincts blindly, and I found my body flipping through the air. For a split second, I was upside-down, staring deep into the burgundy eyes of the angry Nick-hawk, before I landed my back to both him and Brent.

There was an angry, cracking sound that I couldn't quite place, but it was so loud that it hurt my oversensitive ears. I hissed, clapping my hands over my ears before whirling around to ferally dismember whoever had caused that sound. My angry vampire instincts cooled the moment I found myself eye-to-eye with a huge brown bear. Its red eyes glared at me angrily and I backed away, no longer feeling the urge to tear into this giant bear. I felt my fangs retract as I lost every bit of concentration that I'd had on my instincts, and I stumbled backwards onto my butt. The bear reared up, claws glinting in the early-morning sunlight as he prepared to slice my head off. I had no idea how vulnerable I was in this new body, but I was fairly certain that decapitation could kill anything.

A white blur flew over my head, colliding instantly with the bear. Holly's pale fingers pulled against the bear's fur, trying to hold the random, flailing limb that she'd pulled backwards in her direction. Brent was pulling against the other side of the furry creature, and his teeth snapped wildly, trying to clip his pale arms. Sadie and Eve sprinted out of the forest from behind me, Sadie stopping to pull me up. Her eyes were still a gleaming emerald, and I realized that she wasn't a fighter. She was afraid of her inner-vampire; instead she suppressed it to help along the sidelines instead.

"Are you alright?" she asked calmly, pulling me easily to my feet as she her eyes swept over me, looking for damage. I gazed down at myself, assessing the damage. I had a long, slim cut along my arm where Nick's talons must have caught me when they'd exploded from his feet. I examined it; the blood was seeping out sluggishly, rich and red against my pale arm. I ran my fingers along my cheek bone where Nick had caught it with his arm, and it felt broken.

"A little battered, but alright, I think," I answered Sadie in a shaking voice, not sure what to do now that I felt completely and utterly human again. Holly and Brent were yanking the bear's limbs farther apart, and he roared angrily, his reddened gaze now focused on Eve. She glared up at him before deliberately placing her palm against his chest. His eyes snapped down on her, struggling against her as she flipped her dainty palm upside down. The bear froze in place, all of the struggling stopped. Holly and Brent released the bear's clawed arms, which hung in mid-air where they'd been grasping against it. Sadie jogged over to the bear at human pace, and then began speaking to it quietly in a bizarre growling dialect.

Holly zipped over to me, the air around her making a quiet whooshing sound when she reached me. Her left hand closed around the scratch on my arm and I felt it warm against my now-chilly skin. I glanced at it momentarily and watched her fingers illuminate with an eerie orange glow. The skin sealed up, leaving a little bit of blood against my pale arm, which she leaned in and licked off. She then licked her fingers, watching my reaction. I kind of shrugged at her, not feeling particularly disgusted and slightly jealous.

"Yup, you're definitely feeling vamp-y now," Holly laughed; now placing her still warm and glowing palm against my broken cheek-bone. I felt the bone shift inside of my cheek before it clicked back together.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked slowly, trying not to jostle her grasp on my cheekbone as it knitted back together. I watched Brent and Sadie continue to console the Nick-bear, his burgundy eyes following them from his frozen body. Sadie was still mumbling in the strange growling tones, and Brent was patting the bear's arm.

"Yeah, it's a really good thing," Holly exclaimed, pulling her arm away from my face. She looked me right in the eye with her big chocolate eyes, "It's so much easier when it kinda just 'clicks'," she added some air-quotes for effect, "Like, I felt it back there. Your brain just stopped fighting against it," I opened my mouth to protest that my brain hadn't been fighting it, but Holly shook her head and continued, "No, at the beginning, everyone's mind kind of subconsciously repels the changes. It wants to be human, to feel human, because that's what it's always been, what it's always known. But eventually, whether it's while you're drinking or fighting, it just happens. And then you can be happier with your own nature."

"How long did it take you to click?" I asked curiously, as I pre-occupied myself with running my tongue over my now human sized canines. It felt kind of wrong and empty without my extended fangs there.

"A while," she admitted slowly, "I used to just kind of pop my fangs out everywhere. Not on purpose, but my brain didn't want to acknowledge that they were there, so they'd just pop through my oboe reeds, or smash against my piccolo during band… it was obnoxious," She sighed, and I pondered over the number of reeds that had been absolutely torn apart by the end of our band period, "Eventually, we got into a little tussle with the vagina-pires,"

"Did you just say vagina-pires?" I gasped, crinkling my eyebrows together in confusion.

"Oh, there are loads of vampires on the colorguard. Like, they all turn each other because they want to be a creepy clique. Anyways, they hate us because we don't like to kill things, and therefore we are an abomination to vampire nature. So, we call them the vagina-pires." She rolled her eyes, clearly bothered by this line of thinking, "Anyways, they tried to eat the guard judge at chapters last year because they didn't get high auxiliary or whatever their prize is called. Brent, Izzy, Eve, and I caught them, and it was four of us against about six of them. I'd always been a terrible fighter, usually I would sit on the sidelines during our play-fights and just heal whatever injuries we had, but this time, something just clicked and I ended up almost tearing off that Becca girl's arm. It was great,"

"Wonderful?" I commented at her explanation, not really sure how I felt about arm-ripping off.

"Yes, it is," Holly answered smoothly, "She was about to decapitate the judge, so… I just grabbed her arm and pulled." She turned her head to look at the bear-situation, where Eve was now releasing her grip over the frozen creature. It flopped to the ground as Eve took a giant leap backwards. It shuddered back into Nick's vampire-y form and just kind of laid there for a moment. "He wants to talk to us," Holly said, her head cocked to the side as she listened to his thoughts. She held out her pale arm to me and pulled me up off of my butt.

We walked slowly towards him as he grumbled something about sitting up. Brent and Sadie yanked him up and his burgundy eyes locked on me. "Your eyes are hazel again," he commented slowly, as though he had trouble speaking. I realized that his tongue was probably still hurt.

"Thanks I guess," I commented slowly, "I'm sorry about ummm your tongue," I lowered my gaze to the ground, shuffling my feet in the dirt awkwardly. I found that I could gouge out patches of grass really easily with my sneakers and enhanced strength.

"It's okay. It's mostly better now anyways. I guess since I can ummm change shapes and stuff, sorry about trying to eat you as a bear, it helps my body heal faster," Nick said awkwardly, and I watched his own feet do the awkward shuffle as well.

"Well, I hate to break up this apology-fest," Holly announced loudly from beside me, "But we've got a band practice to catch,"

"Shit, what time is it?" I asked, patting my pockets to find my phone, panicking. I wondered how my new vampire-self would do at band with all of the humans. I'd never smelled human blood before. Was it as good as Holly said?

"Seven fifteen," Eve answered curtly as she walked up behind me, "Amy and Mike are already on their way with Josh and Daisy. I was about to go with them when Holly gave me a brain-ring to get over here because of Nick…" she trailed off, her blue eyes sad, "Sorry I had to freeze you like that,"

"Again, sorry to break up the apology fest," Holly repeated, "but we've really gotta go if we wanna make it from here," Eve gave me a brief hug before jogging over to Brent to hold his hand and wander off towards the cars. Nick sighed and watched as Holly reached over to guide me away from him and Sadie and towards the cars as well. I turned back to catch a brief glimpse of Sadie pulling him up and giving him a hug. His red eyes stayed locked on mine until I sheepishly looked away.  


* * *

**A/N: **Oh man, vampire fights! Wooh. And soon we get to head off to band... where Jazz and company will encounter the vagina-pires and other villainous creatures.


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